


On the Verge of a Heartbreak

by NekoAbi



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Accidental Self Harm, Analogical Brothers - Freeform, Angst in upcoming chapters, Bullying, Crying, Funeral, Homophobia, Human AU, Implied Claustrophobia, M/M, Mild Language, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Roman's actually awful, Royality Brothers, Screaming, Slow Burn, Spider mention, Threats of harm, Thunder and Lightning, Violence, anxiety mention, car crash mention, implied panic attack, pain mention, physical violence, school au, shouting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-09-13 07:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 95,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16887834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoAbi/pseuds/NekoAbi
Summary: The Mortensons and Ashworths were friends when they first met, but when Roman Ashworth develops a hatred for Logan Mortenson, he drives the families apart. Neither family could expect that this would affect their upcoming children. After meeting in pre-school, Patton and Virgil are inseparable friends. They want to find a way around their brothers' feud, but little do they notice that they're falling for each other.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The main thought and inspiration for this fic was a song from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It then spiralled into becoming this monster of a fic that I'm really excited about, and the influence will likely become clear in a later chapter!

The Mortensons moved into the new neighbourhood with the intention of being closer to their son’s schools. While Logan was still only in preschool, they still felt it was important to have a close proximity for later years, allowing him to walk to and from on his own or with fellow classmates when he was old enough. Doing this early also allowed them to become familiar with other parents living close by.

They made good friends with the Ashworths, who just happened to live in the house opposite. Both of their sons were in the same school and so they met quickly..

For the first few months after moving, everything was peaceful. The two families frequently talked and shared time together. Simple chats at front doors or in kitchens or at the entrance to the preschool were more than enough to foster a good friendship.

Roman was usually the first one to come to his parents, so he’d met the Mortensons on multiple occasions and he was perfectly lovely with them. Both families were expecting second children at the same time, which just provided something else for them to bond over. Roman was ever so excited at the idea of being a big brother that he was constantly asking questions to both families about their soon-to-be-born children. Everything was going well.

Until one day.

Neither family know the details of what happened. But both of their sons came out of the preschool, bickering heavily. Well, Roman was practically yelling at Logan, while Logan responded with short comments and looks. Both boys made their way to their families. Both mothers went to find out the details, but Roman’s ungodly screech stopped them in their tracks.

“You’re his mom?!”

No one knew what to say. Logan’s mother flinched as Roman’s rage was sent her way. He didn’t say anything, instead he sent her a particularly venomous look, before grabbing a hold of his own mother and walking away.

From that day onwards, Roman was incredibly unreceptive to anyone in the Mortenson family. If he left the school and found either of his parents talking to them, he’d immediately find a way to stop the conversation. He sabotaged several more conversations in the street, sometimes even blatantly lying to the Mortensons if they came over to his home.

“My parents aren’t home.” He’d say.

Roman, just past reaching his 5th birthday, was already holding a grudge against their entire family.

Logan did his best to explain what he thought about the situation to his parents, but it didn’t seem like a situation that would cause such a hostile reaction.

From what had been explained, Logan had simply made a comment about Roman’s drawing he’d been doing, which had then spurred Roman on to critique something about Logan. It had turned into a circle of both just throwing comments back and forth, with Roman getting increasingly more aggravated while Logan remained calm. This then repeated the next day, with Roman making yet another sly comment. And then the next day with Logan pointing out something in one of the stories Roman was telling.

The days went by with both families attempting to keep up contact, while Roman’s vendetta against Logan was still simmering away. But the whole situation was quickly buried under the excitement of new arrivals to each family.

The Mortensons greeted their new baby a little over a month after the Ashworths. What would have been a time of shared joy had become two separate experiences. Both families mourned the fact they were no longer able to truly share time with each other, but still cherished their newest family members.

In the background of this all, Roman’s vendetta against Logan was still going strong. He frequently stoked his own fire, always trying to prove himself or his family better. After finding out that Logan also got a brother around the same time, Roman found himself getting even more mad. He began to brag frequently about how much better of a brother he was going to be compared to everyone, especially Logan.

Logan learnt quickly to not respond to Roman. Instead, he simply brushed off all the comments. It didn’t make Roman stop completely, but it did mean that Roman left him alone for the most part. Roman wasn’t getting the response he wanted, but he still hadn’t won. Logan could always hear the other boy talking about him behind his back, but he ignored them for the most part. He also ended up keeping them from his parents as the years progressed. Logan felt they didn’t need to hear every piece of information, especially with his brother taking up so much of their time.

The years passed, everything staying relatively the same. The families stayed cordial with each other, but never truly regained the friendship they’d had in the past. Both of their eldest continued to attend the same school as each other. Roman’s quest to get under Logan’s skin persisted, just growing more and more elaborate as the years passed and his friendship group evolved and grew. Logan focused on his school work, making his own friends and taking on more responsibility whenever he could. He always attempted to ignore Roman’s efforts and not respond in kind, but when something just happened to inconvenience the other boy, well, Logan couldn’t exactly say no. 

Meanwhile, Patton became the embodiment of purity and kindness. He would be trying to help his parents or brother around the house, even if that just meant keeping their dog busy and out of their way. He looked up to and attempted to copy his brother in several ways, he enjoyed spending time with everyone around him.

Virgil, on the other hand, was preferring to keep to himself. He loved his immediate family, his mother in particular. He followed her around in his early years, just wanting to be closer to her than anyone else. He bonded with Logan after a day of babysitting, finding his brother to be so interesting. They worked as a team when they needed to, but also understood each other when they needed to be away. It was early on that Virgil would display signs of intense anxiety, which the family learnt to help him cope with.

Both boys grew up with no awareness of each other, with little awareness of the family they were supposed to be close to. Small snippets of conversation would reach them at times, but due to their young age, it didn’t exactly seem to mean much. They both continued their lives separately. That was until they began school.


	2. First Day of Preschool

Virgil clung to his mother’s hand tightly as they entered the room that was filled with other kids of his age. The room was loud, kids came running past him and his mother to join the group in the middle. It looked so busy. It was all new. It was scary. His hand gripped his mother’s even tighter.

“Virgil, honey. Remember what we promised?”

He turned to look at his mother, who had squatted down to his level. The young boy nodded. He hugged his mother one last time as one of the other adults called for all the kids to settle down and take a seat.

Virgil wandered over slowly, glancing over his shoulder to see his mother leaving. He perched himself on the very edge of the group as the adult introduced herself and called out each kid’s name. Virgil only listened for his own, unable to focus on learning any of the other names. Soon, they were allowed to get up and do things. Virgil kept to himself as he watched all the other children scatter off to all the activities around. He didn’t know what to do.

He coloured for a little bit but found that he didn’t like the other kids watching what he did. They didn’t exactly say anything mean to him, Virgil just wasn’t a fan of the attention. He did a few more things with the other art supplies around, simply because he didn’t know what to do.

There was a sense of relief when the adults called for all of the kids in the room to come together again. Virgil was trapped a little from the edge of the group, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. The kid next to him wouldn’t stop moving and had this thing in front of his face. The thing reminded him of his brother, what had he said they were again…

Two of the adults sat on chairs in front of them, one holding this wooden thing with strings. Before Virgil could remember what his brother had told him, they started speaking.

“We’re going to be sharing some stories, and we’ll need your help!”

The adults started telling the story of a lost little wolf. The lost little wolf had lost his mom and was just trying to get back home. The adults got them all to shout with the lost little wolf, howling out like a wolf. Virgil joined in quietly, meaning he was completely drowned out by the rest of the kids.

When the lost little wolf fell into a hole, the kid next to him grabbed onto Virgil’s arm. Virgil jumped and turned to stare at him, he noticed that the boy looked upset. Virgil continued to watch the boy, he saw how happy he got when the lost little wolf’s mom came and found him. He didn’t know what it was, but this boy was interesting to him.

The adults then had them all sing a song together before having another story, with the one adult playing the guitar alongside them. Virgil was still quiet, but he really liked the singing. He liked music a lot. The guitar looked like fun. He wanted to try, but it was almost as big as he was. Maybe when he was bigger.

It was time for snacks. Virgil took a seat a little away from where everyone began to sit, but quickly found himself joined by that boy from before. The boy looked at him with shining eyes and a wide smile.

“Hi!” He sat down next to Virgil, “You sang really good!! You were quiet, but I could hear it!”

Virgil looked away, a little embarrassed at being caught singing, but that didn’t stop the other boy.

“My name’s Patton! What’s yours?”

Virgil mumbled his name quietly. His eyes found his way back to Patton as he heard the other boy gasp.

“That’s a really cool name! I like it!”

Patton didn’t leave Virgil alone for the rest of the day. At Nap Time, he was right next to Virgil. When it came time to go outside, Patton almost dragged Virgil over to the other friends he’d made and got him to join in a game they were all playing. Whenever Virgil started to feel a little left out, Patton was always suddenly right there and bringing him back into whatever they were doing. They were all in the middle of a game of tag where Virgil was currently ‘it’ when the adults brought them all back inside for another activity.

On the way back inside, Virgil tapped Patton’s shoulder. Patton looked at him curiously. Virgil smiled, “Tag, you’re it.” They both started giggling amongst themselves, constantly tagging each other still as they started the next activity.

The adults had set out all these strips of paper and given them all the art supplies. They were to decorate as many as they could however they wanted. The room was filled with chatter and scribbling noises as they all set to work.

“Virgil, what’s your favourite colour?”

Virgil stopped for a moment to think, looking around at the colours that was littered around him on the table. His eyes were caught by the dark purple marker that was at the edge of the table and he pointed to it, “I like that one.”

Patton nodded and went back to working at his drawing. Virgil watched him for a moment, confused but he let it go. He didn’t need to know why Patton had asked him that. Virgil was to find out soon anyway.

“Virgil! Look!”

“Huh?” The young boy looked up from the lines he was drawing. Patton was holding up a strip of his own paper, grinning happily. Virgil tilted his head to the side, “What is it?”

“It’s your name! Look!” Patton set it back down on the table, running his finger down the word he’d written, “V-E-R-J-I-L-L. Virgil!”

Virgil, after recovering from being a little shocked, grabbed a brand-new strip of paper and a handful of the crayons in front of him. “Pick a colour.” When the other boy pointed to the light blue one, Virgil dropped the rest of them and began to draw something on the strip.

Patton tried to watch over his shoulder, a little worried as his new friend didn’t say anything about what he’d been working on. When Virgil sat up straight, he could see that his friend had been writing something and his mouth dropped open.

“I did yours too. See?” Virgil copied Patton from earlier, “P-A-T-E-N. Patton.”

Patton wrapped Virgil in a tight hug, “I love it!” Both boys couldn’t stop smiling. They continued on some more strips, working together to decorate some of them before the adults stopped them.

“Now, we want you to take all these pretty strips of paper and turn them into a paper chain like this!” They held up a chain of paper hoops. The adults showed them how to twist and stick the loops together.

Patton was hastily putting all of his together, wanting to see what it would look like. Next to him, Virgil was slowly putting his together, trying to make them look perfect. When Patton picked up the one he’d written Virgil’s name on. He suddenly had a great idea.

“Virgil! Virgil! Let’s put our names together!”

It sounded like a great idea, so Virgil made the one with Patton’s name into a loop and handed it over so Patton could put the one with Virgil’s name through it. They eventually attached their own chains to it, so it was one big long chain. They both wanted to keep it, but the adults said that all of the chains were going to be hung on the walls in the pre-school, so everyone could see what they’d done.

One by one, each of the kids brought their chains over to the adults who attached them to the walls. When they called for Virgil, he couldn’t just take it on his own, it was way too long!

“Patton. Come with me.” Virgil whispered loudly. Thankfully, his friend bounded up from the seat without question and grabbed the other end of it. They both made their way over to the adults, “We put ours together.”

“Yeah, so it’s really long! We have our names in it too! Look!” Patton pointed to the middle where their names were looped together.

The adults laughed gently and praised them before hanging it on the wall. Virgil stared at it once he got back to the chair. It made him happy. He had the best friend ever, and they’d made something together. He smiled at Patton, who grinned at him in response.

The adults said it was the end of the day and that their parents were here to pick them up. As much as Virgil didn’t want to leave Patton, he did miss his mom. He made his way out and almost went running to his mom as soon as he saw her. They made their way home quickly.

That evening at dinner, Virgil was asked about his day. He spoke about what they did that day but didn’t exactly go into a lot of details as he was feeling incredibly sleepy. He knew his older brother probably wanted to talk about something, it did always seem like something important was happening with him and his school. But Virgil was encouraged to go on.

“Did you make some friends?” His father asked, casually.

Virgil nodded, yawning before he spoke, “Yeah, there was a nice boy. We made a long paper chain.”

He didn’t see it, but both his parents visibly relaxed. They must have been so worried that Virgil would sabotage himself and be unable to make friend, due to his anxious nature. The simple fact that there was someone that Virgil was even considering to be a friend was comforting to them. They didn’t push him for anything more, instead turning the conversation to other topics.

On the other side of the street, Patton was recounting his day in so much detail to his family. His father, who’d picked him up from the pre-school, was chuckling as he ate. He’d heard everything already, but he couldn’t fault his youngest for being excited.

Patton was just finishing up telling his brother about the story time, “And then we had a song and the boy I was sat next was really quiet but he sounded really good! So I told him when it was snack time and his face got all red. And then I told him my name and then he told me his and his name is Virgil and he’s really-“

“Patton.” His brother’s hand held his arm, and Patton looked up at him, “That boy, Virgil. Don’t speak to him again. He’s mean and nasty. He’s not nice.” The look in his brother’s eyes made Patton scared - he looked so angry - but Patton couldn’t believe that Virgil was nasty.

“He wasn’t nasty! He was really nice! We made paper chains and-“

“No. He will be nasty. He’s from a mean family.” His brother still wasn’t letting go of him, but at least he looked less scary. He looked more upset. “I don’t want him to hurt you, Patton. I only want to make sure you don’t let him become your friend and then be mean to you.” His brother took both of Patton’s little hands in his own, “Just be careful. Don’t play with him, don’t speak to him, don’t even sit with him.”

Patton felt his lip quivering but nodded anyway. He didn’t want to make his older brother sad. He loved his brother, because his brother was the best brother.

Across the table, his mother and father were silently eating. They refused to get involved, even though they could see the possible damage coming from their eldest’s personal vendetta that had been going on for almost 5 years now. They couldn’t control it, they couldn’t stop it, so they just let it happen.

His brother smiled and let go of Patton’s hands, ruffling his hair, “So, what else did you do?”

Patton continued telling him about his day, getting excited again. But he made sure not to mention Virgil at all, he didn’t want to see his scary brother again. Instead, he made sure to remember to never ever ever bring up Virgil again.


	3. Preschool Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter includes a nightmare that involves spiders, bugs and small spaces. Skip to the line of asterisks to get past it.

Patton laughed as he and his friends scattered in different directions. It was that time of day where they could all play outside and they’d all decided to play hide and seek. He knew exactly where he was going to hide, it was the perfect place.

He wasn’t going to hide alone either. He’d already planned with his new friend where they were going to tuck themselves away.

He made his way to the climbing frame near the back of the playground and crawled into the box near the bottom. It was a little dark, but there were holes in each side of the box letting the natural light in. Patton squished himself into the corner, so his back was facing where he’d just come from. To the side of him, Patton saw Virgil doing the same into the other corner. They both smiled at each other.

“Ready or not! Here I come!”

The young boy covered his mouth with his hand as he giggled. They both remained as quiet as possible, listening for signs that their pursuer was close.

“FOUND YOU!” came a shout from the other side of the playground, along with a few squeals and shouts.

Patton looked to the side and out of the hole they’d both crawled in through. He could see a couple of the others running away from the seeker, who was close behind. He then turned back to smile at Virgil but was shocked to find himself alone in the box. He looked around for him but couldn’t find his friend anywhere.

Something tickled his arm and so Patton scratched at it, only to find something wet? He looked down to see a squished bug on his arm, followed by another one crawling up. It was only a couple of ants.

Well, it was. Until more came.

They all began crawling over Patton’s body. He squirmed and writhed about, practically clawing all over his body in a futile attempt, but all of them were almost glued to his skin and basically invincible. Other types of bugs joined in on the mass migration along Patton’s body. They were coming together to form what could be mistaken for a wriggling blanket.

He wanted to get out of the box, he wanted to just get through that hole, but it was now too small, and he couldn’t get out. He tried to scream for help, but his voice wasn’t working. Patton could only sit there and endure it. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks, his heart racing with fear. He closed his eyes, hoping that it would all just go away.

Then something heavier started making its way up his leg. It was bigger than all the other bugs, who were getting very close to covering his entire body. It was stepping over the rest of them, as if they were nothing. It could almost be like it was stepping between his legs, the weight of it’s body resting just on him subtly.

Patton peaked out, just a tiny bit. He had to know what it was. He saw the giant spider. He opened his mouth to scream but found everything being blacked out by the bugs.

**************************************************

His eyes flew open wide as he woke up with a start. Patton screamed and threw the bedsheets off of himself, flinging his own body off his bed. Patton felt tears streaking down his face again and he started crying openly.

There was something wriggling under the sheet he’d thrown up. He crawled back away from it, squealing in fear.

His bedroom door opened seconds later.

“Patton?! What’s wrong?!”

The young boy moved as fast as he could. He practically threw himself towards his older brother, whimpering and sobbing as he pointed shakily towards the bed. In between shaking breaths, Patton managed to get out some of the story.

Roman picked out the words “nightmare” and “spider” and “over there” from his distraught brother’s rambling speech. He looked over to see the sheets of the bed wriggling as something underneath them was clearly trying to escape. It was beginning to settle down however, a soft whine accompanying the lack of movement. He smiled, knowing what was going on.

“Don’t worry, Patton. I’ll find out what monster is hiding under the sheets!” Roman confidently stepped away from his brother, heading for the bed. He heard Patton squeak behind him as he flipped the bedsheets back down to reveal the family’s dog. “What a vicious monster!”

The dog in question shook itself, looking around in confusion. “Reilly!” He turned to the call of his name and jumped down and bounded over to Patton, who opened his arms to receive the small dog.

Roman stood next to Patton’s bed with a small smile. While he was a little mad about being interrupted so late at night, he couldn’t leave his brother to endure such a scare on his own.

Patton soon makes his way back into the bed, after several confirmations (of increasing irritability) that the bed was free of all bugs. He lay down, still clearly worried about the nightmare. “What if it comes back?” Patton’s bottom lip wobbled as tears threatened to fall again, “It was really scary, Ro…”

The older brother simply scoffed, “How could it dare come back again? With Reilly and I here to protect you, no nightmare will ever think to harm you again!” Roman glared around the room at an invisible foe, his scowling turning amused as he looked back at the now giggling Patton.

He waited until Patton was just falling asleep, which didn’t take long. Roman exaggeratedly whispered over to Reilly, telling the dog to protect Patton. He slipped out of his brother’s room and back into his own.

Roman went to sit back at his desk, but instead stood just beside his chair looking at the open notebook under the desk lamp. His expression darkened as he smiled to himself, reading all the plans he’d already mapped out.

This notebook was precious to him. It lived in his room, never went out with him. It needed to stay here. It was full of confidential information. It had a special place in his drawer with another notebook that was also full of similar - yet older - information, and a couple empty ones just begging to be filled with new and more elaborate ideas. Roman simply couldn’t wait for the next day, where his friends were to come over and fine tune his plans. They’d brainstorm for hours, convincing his parents they were working on homework. He really did have the best team.

Soon. All too soon, he’d finally be able to get back at him.

Gently and tenderly, he closed the notebook. He placed it back in the bottom drawer of his desk, stroking it’s cover before shutting it away for the night. Roman slid into his own bed and drifted off to sleep, thoughts of revenge still swimming through his mind.

Patton, meanwhile, was still having troubles falling asleep. He knew he was safe, his brother said so, but he couldn’t stop being scared. Instead, he lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to actually fall back to sleep. Each time he was close, the image of the bugs and the box were thrust into his vision.

The next day, Virgil noticed that Patton was lacking energy. As much as the young boy tried to cover it up, it was noticeable, so when it came to Nap Time, Virgil expected him to immediately fall asleep.

They took up spaces next to each other again. Virgil could never nap with this many people around, so he just lay there quietly. It wasn’t until he saw Patton’s eyes shifting out the corner of his own that he noticed the boy was awake.

Virgil gave him a concerned look. Patton looked away, closing his eyes, which quickly reopened. Virgil could see the fear in them. He didn’t know what was wrong, but it definitely was something that seemed not normal.

Silently, Virgil reached out and touched Patton’s hand. The scared boy’s head turned sharply to stare at Virgil. There was a moment where nothing happened, but then Patton smiled.

Patton couldn’t explain it, but he felt okay with Virgil there. It wasn’t like when he was back home in his bed. It was different. There, he had his brother and his parents and Reilly all to look after him. They’d protect him, but they hadn’t, and the nightmare had gotten through to him. But here with Virgil, he felt completely protected. He couldn’t bring himself to sleep, but he felt better. He could almost see the dark swirling nightmare flying away from him and out of the window.

He closed his eyes and found that it was just dark. There were no bugs, no small box. Patton opened them again, to find Virgil still there next to him. He grinned happily, squeezing Virgil’s hand in thanks.

Neither of them slept that nap time. They kept each other company, just quietly laying next to each other. At the end of the day, Patton climbed into his bed and settled down. He was just about drifting off to peaceful sleep when he thought about his friend. He fell asleep to the thought of Virgil sleeping as soundly as he knew he was about to.


	4. Daisychains and Time Skips

Time just continued to trickle past. It was almost the end of kindergarten.

Virgil and Patton remained friends, getting ever closer with each day. They were practically attached at the hip, until it came time for school to end for the day. Patton would become a little more distant, a little wary, but he never told Virgil about his brother’s warning. He was determined to make his own choice. He believed that Virgil was a good person, and he was.

Virgil helped him in moments where he needed it the most. Patton didn’t have to ask most times. Virgil was a comfort, he was someone to talk to, someone who would listen to Patton’s ramblings. Virgil was someone who Patton could drag halfway across the playground to see something and wouldn’t complain. Virgil was his best friend. Patton would never let his brother get in the way of that.

Virgil was slowly coming out of his shell. Patton was very good at that. He managed to get him involved in so many things with so many new people. Virgil would stay close to Patton in these moments, however. They were best friends after all.

One day on the playground, Patton dragged Virgil to the grass where he pointed out a large number of daisies. Patton immediately began scrambling to pick as many as he could.

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked, watching carefully.

Patton turned to him with a smile, “Picking daisies so we can make daisy chains!”

“Daisy chains?” Virgil seated himself on the grass, avoiding as many of the flowers as he could. Patton’s sudden look of shock caused him to shrink into himself a little, “What? Don’t look at me like that…”

“You’ve never made a daisy chain…? Ever?!”

Virgil shook his head and Patton gasped, dropping his already picked flowers so he could put his hand to his mouth. He immediately began to explain what a daisy chain was, how he was going to make one and so on. Virgil was toying with one of the nearby flowers as he listened.

The young boy picked the small flower and a second one, “So, like this?” Virgil created a hole with his finger nail and slid the stem of the second flower into the first and held it up to Patton, who was smiling wide.

“Yeah!! Perfect! Just add more and more until it’s big enough!”

Virgil and Patton spent some time in silence making their daisy chains. After a while, Virgil reached out and tapped Patton on the shoulder.

Patton looked up to find a small daisy chain being held out to him while Virgil looked towards the other kids on the playground, seemingly ignoring his friend.

“Virgil?”

The boy tensed before responding, “What? Just take it…”

Patton’s eyes lit up immediately, “A present?! I love presents!” He took the flowers and put it around his wrist. He noticed that Virgil was smiling softly to himself but turned away when Patton looked directly at him. It also looked like Virgil’s face was pink, like he was sick.

Patton rapidly threw together a similar size daisy chain and put it over Virgil’s wrist, “There! Best Friendship Bracelets!” He held his wrist with the daisy chain up whilst using his other arm to hold Virgil’s up as well.

Virgil looked at the two rings of flowers, unsure of what to say. Instead, he reached a little further forward and grasped Patton’s hand loosely, “Yeah, best friends.” The two boys were sat smiling at each other for a moment, before a voice interrupted calling all the kids back inside.

It was a day Virgil could never forget. He’d wanted to keep the daisy chain forever but found it becoming gross after a couple of days. He began to worry, he didn’t want to touch it in case it broke. He couldn’t let Patton know he’d ruined the Best Friendship Bracelet. Would it mean they weren’t best friends anymore?

Virgil felt the tears rolling down his cheeks, he didn’t even realise he was hiccuping until the door to his room pushed open to reveal his big brother.

“Virgil, what’s the matter?”

The younger pointed to the withering daisies sat on the side, not wanting to speak. Logan regarded the flowers for a second before speaking.

“Why do you have a bunch of daisies in your room, Virgil?”

Virgil shrunk a little more, but he attempted to explain between the hiccups, “It was a, a gift. From my friend. I wanted to keep them. But they’re all bad now.”

He watched as his brother moved over to inspect the flowers. After a moment of quiet contemplation, Logan turned to him, “There should be a way to save these. Come with me.”

The end of preschool came and went, as did Elementary school. Their friendship only grew stronger through the games of hopscotch, playing make believe, and losing teeth. They spent their lunches together, chatting about the classes. They weren’t together all the time anymore but enjoyed whatever they could get.

Patton began making new friends in his class, while Virgil preferred to keep to himself. There was the worry that Patton would begin to forget him, but that was always disproven at every turn.

Middle school was to be their biggest test.

Patton began joining many after school activities, meaning he made even more friends. He formed a close group in the first year in the new school, but always made sure Virgil had a space in the group whenever he wanted.

Virgil began to take up some new interests in the spare time he had after heading home. He found himself enjoying the music lessons in school, even finding that he was pretty good at learning the instruments quickly. For his 8th birthday, Virgil had gotten a guitar as well as paid lessons from his family. He cherished it, even if it was still a little too big for him at that time.

The week after he’d gotten the guitar, Virgil found himself walking out of the school with Patton for the first time in a while. Patton’s after school activity had been cancelled due to the teacher that ran it being off ill, but he took it well as it gave him an excuse to see Virgil again. They exited towards the front of the school, chatting happily until they were interrupted by a shout.

“Virgil!”

Both boys turned to the direction of the shout. Virgil was surprised to find Logan walking quickly towards them, an almost perfectly blank expression on his face. “Logan? What are you-” Virgil’s question was cut off as his arm was gripped tightly and he was being dragged away from the school by his older brother.

Looking back, Virgil caught Patton’s eyes. They both shared a look of confused, as did many of the other kids that had turned to see what was happening. It took a while until Patton even managed to figure out what had even happened and, by then, it was far too late for him to do anything. So, he headed off to find his ride home.

Patton immediately excused himself to his room. He was lost in thought about the whole situation. The look on that stranger’s face was scary and it seemed like he completely looked through Patton, as if he didn’t actually exist.

His door was shut, his bag dropped to the floor as Patton trudged across to his bed which he then face-planted onto. Had he done something wrong? Or had Virgil done something wrong? Who was that person? Why did they just drag Virgil away like that? Questions swirled around Patton’s head and they were so overwhelming. He crawled onto the bed, so he could fully lay down before covering his head with the pillow and groaning.

A few knocks came from his door, with the door clicking open immediately after.

“Knock, knock. Hey, what’s wrong?”

Patton groaned again. He felt the bed dip as a weight was added to it, a hand resting on his shoulder. Roman chuckled lightly, “Hey, it can’t be that awful. C’mon. Talk to me.”

After a little more coaxing, Patton was sat cross-legged with the pillow in his lap. He began quietly, picking his words carefully. He didn’t want to bring Virgil into it and make his brother mad again and he had a suspicion that the stranger who’d taken him away was also something he shouldn’t bring up with Roman.

Throughout his story, Patton could hear Roman’s phone vibrating and could see his attention diverting from him whenever it happened. He was getting really antsy, Patton could almost see him wanting to grab his phone right then and there. But he was trying to stay focused, it was okay.

Roman was popular at high school. He always had friends over and they all seemed to be so popular as well. It would make sense that Roman would get a lot of messages, Patton reasoned to himself.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Pat! Don’t you worry! Who knows? Your friend might have been late for something!” Roman’s hands were resting on his younger brother’s shoulders. He held tight, a little tighter than what could be considered normal.

“I didn’t think of that…” Patton’s voice was low, his eyes cast downwards, “Maybe you’re right…”

“Of course, I’m right. I’m always right!”

“Hey! What about that time dad corrected you?!”

“I was still right! I just got some details wrong.”

Patton giggled, pushing Roman’s shoulder lightly. He let out a breath before smiling gently at his older brother, “Thanks, Ro. I kinda feel better about-”

Roman was immediately up onto his feet, backing out of Patton’s room, “Oh, that’s just wonderful. I do hate the idea of you being upset, dearest brother. I am glad you feel better, and I hope your friend is okay. Bye!”

His phone was right into his hand, checking the messages that had come in throughout the chat they’d been having.

Maybe they were just really important messages. It wasn’t that Roman didn’t care, he did stay with him all that time after all… Yeah, just really important messages… right?


	5. Explanations

“Logan! Let me go!” Virgil attempted to pull his arm free, but his brother’s grip tightened to an almost painful degree. Virgil immediately snapped his mouth shut, suddenly beginning to panic. He’d done something very wrong. So so so wrong. Logan was mad at him and he’d tell his parents and he’d be in so much trouble. Virgil managed to keep a hold on his expression, not giving too much away.

The younger wouldn’t be released until both of them were a decent distance away from his school. Virgil rubbed his arm, trying to will away the ache. He went to scowl at Logan, but the look on his brother’s face stopped him. He looked conflicted.

Logan kept walking, this time at a slower pace with Virgil following just a little behind. Silence fell between them for a while, before Virgil piped up, “…What was that about, Logan? Why did you just… drag me away?”

Logan sighed and stopped, turning to look at his younger brother. “I’m sorry, Virgil. It’s… complicated… But that boy is not… a good choice for a friend.”

Virgil, who’d taken a couple steps further, simply stared at Logan, “What do you mean? How do you know? Do you know him?”

Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up a little as he did so, “As I said, it’s complicated, Virgil. It’s better for us all if yo-”

“Us all? Who’s us all?”

The soft sadness in his brother’s voice had Logan sighing again, “It will take a while to explain… Do you really want to hear all this?”

Virgil nodded. “We have the whole walk home, especially if we’re slow.”

The Mortenson brothers took a long time to get back to their home. Logan explained all he could about Roman and the perceived feud surrounding the two of them; from it’s beginnings to the current day. They were just getting to their front door when Logan was wrapping up the story.

“So, you see now, Virgil. If Roman were to find out that you were even just looking at his brother, he’d find someway to make both our lives hell. I’ve been dealing with this for years and I am more than accustomed to it by now.” Logan opened the front door and hung his jacket up on the hook just to the left, “I don’t want you to be brought into this, Virgil.”

In a moment of unexpected intimacy, Logan brought his younger brother into a hug, his voice dropping to a whisper, “It wouldn’t be good for you.”

Virgil didn’t move for a moment. Logan was never this affectionate, or even this emotional at all. It was definitely something new. But soon, he wrapped his own arms around his older brother, hugging him tight. “I get it. Sorry to worry you, Logan…”

The brothers let go of each other a moment later. They shared a quick smile before both headed up to their rooms for the rest of the afternoon, until their parents called them for dinner.

“So, anything interesting happen at school today?” Their father asked casually.

Logan and Virgil shared a glance, both seemingly unsure if they should tell their parents what had happened after school. However quick they may have attempted to be, they still got caught.

“Boys? Is something wrong?”

Virgil rushed to say no, while Logan coolly responded that everything was fine before going on to explain that he’d just had an incident today with Roman yet again. As his parents listened to the story of the newest attempt at ‘getting back’ at their son, the concern on their faces melted away. Virgil stayed silent throughout the rest of dinner, excluding when he excused himself once his food was finished.

An hour or so after he’d settled down in his room, a knock came at his door. Virgil, without getting up from where he was laying on the bed, called out, “Come in.”

Logan entered the room but only stood just a step inside, shutting the door behind him. He looked serious again. Virgil pushed himself up until he was sat up fully, awaiting whatever his brother had in store for him this time.

“I want you to promise me you’ll-”

“I don’t want to lose my best friend, Logan…” Virgil looked down at the notebook he had been writing in. It was a gift from Patton, back a couple years ago. It was his favourite, it worked as his diary and his songbook. Already he was attempting to write songs and stories. He rested his hand on the page, “He’s special, Logan. He’s… the only friend I have, really…”

The bed dipped next to him as Logan sat beside him, “I wasn’t going to ask you to stop being friends with him, Virgil. I just… I just want you to be careful.” The younger looked to the side at his usually stoic older brother, who looked down at his hands.

Virgil waited for a second before nodding gently, “Okay. I’ll be careful. Promise. I’ll… try to not be around Patton too much…”

“That’s his brother’s name, huh? Patton?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Roman likes to talk about himself, and only himself. He’s never mentioned his brother by name, only through pictures. He has quite the talent for only talking about himself.”

‘Dick.´ Virgil thought to himself.

Logan left his room soon after, bidding Virgil a goodnight. The younger lay back down on his bed, getting back to the homework he was getting done. He thought about everything he’d learnt today. Virgil made a second promise that day; to not tell Patton anything about this. He’d act normal.

And so both Patton and Virgil were hiding their brothers’ warnings for each other, for fear of ruining their friendship. They were also waiting for the day where they could prove their brothers wrong, when they could maybe find a way to stop the feud between their families. But that was far off in the future. For now, they enjoyed all their time in middle school. However, once they turned 11 and moved up to their first year of high school, it was about to get a lot more complicated.

Sharing a school with their older brothers was about to make this a covert friendship that would have to only work behind the scenes.


	6. Introduction to High School

For the first two days of school, it was simple for the two students. It was an introductory period for the new Years 7s and new Year 12s, giving them the freedom to learn the school and get to grips with their new schedules and teachers without the rest of the other kids interfering.

With both of their brothers being in Year 11, Virgil and Patton had all the time to spend with each other. Virgil was brought to school early for both of the initial days as Logan - and his parents - wanted him to already get into the routine he would be following for the next year while Patton got to school early simply because he was too excited for all the new things he was about to experience. After finding each other in the early morning, Patton promised that he’d always turn up to school that little bit early, so they could hang out.

Break time, lunch time, even after school; the two friends spent as much time as they could together while they had the freedom to do so. They’d already found a spot they liked at the back of the main meeting area of the school, where multiple circle tables sat at the bottom of the large staircase that went up to the front doors and reception area of the school. This is where they were sat after school on the second day. It felt almost sad for the two of them, as they both knew that it would be so unlikely for them to spend this much time together at school anymore.

They were still keeping their brothers’ warnings to themselves, as they didn’t want to throw anything unexpected into their friendship at this stage, especially with the uncertainty of the future of it.

Virgil’s phone buzzed with a text, “My brother’s outside, so I gotta go.” He shouldered his bag and went to leave but didn’t move. Patton stared up at his friend’s back, a little concerned. He could tell that Virgil was thinking hard. As much as he wanted to say something, Patton held back and just let him think. There was a deep breath that was taken before Virgil spoke again.

“See you, tomorrow?”

It took a moment to register in Patton’s mind, but he then broke into a large grin. The young boy hopped up from his seat and hugged Virgil delicately, “Of course, Verge. I promised I’d be here early, didn’t I? Make sure you are too!” The small smile he got in response gave Patton a fluttery feeling deep in his stomach. It was new and weird, but he didn’t want to think about it too much, at least not while Virgil was still here with him.

He watched and waited as Virgil walked up the stairs and out of the front doors, before following. Patton still had the fluttering feeling in his tummy as he walked through the double doors and persisted well into his walk home. It was still there as he ate dinner and chatted with his family, and it was still around when he went to bed. Patton couldn’t quite understand it, but it made him feel excited and warm. He fell asleep, not thinking about that changes that were on their way.

The next morning came fast. Virgil made his way to the school early with Logan, who left him alone as he went to prepare for his day. Virgil and Patton met only minutes later, both visibly nervous. They both made their excuses for their behaviour, before falling back into their usual chatter. Virgil was more wary than usual, eyes flicking around as more and more students filled the building. After what felt like almost a torturously long time, the school day began.

The best friends kept their distance from each other all day. They’d found that a lot of their classes were on opposite ends of the school, meaning they couldn’t simply walk to their classes together. It was for the best, when they both considered their surroundings. If they were caught by either of their brothers, all hell could break loose.

During their break, each of the boys found some excuse to not see each other. Patton was busy talking with some friends he already had from their old school, while Virgil sat to the side of the courtyard with his notebook, writing. They managed to catch each other’s eye a couple times, causing them both to smile and wave in greeting. It was okay, they were going to be fine. But they still wanted to spend that time together, rather than apart.

Patton was beginning to feel disheartened by the time lunch rolled around. He’d loved spending time with Virgil during lunch over the past two days, it was wonderful, but today he made his way over to the cafeteria on his own. His eyes looked over the large room which was now jammed full of students of different ages, trying to figure out where he’d sit to eat.

“Hey! It’s you!”

A girl suddenly appeared in his vision, standing extremely close. Patton flinched back in surprise, but almost immediately recognised her as the girl who’d shown him around the school during an open day a few months back, “Abigal, right?”

Her eyes lit up as she grinned, “Oh my gosh! You remember me! How are you? How’s the school been to you?”

“It’s been so good! There’s just so many places around the school, I keep getting lost on my way to class.” Patton laughed, unashamed of his confession.

“Oh! I know someone who can help you! Come! Sit with me. You looked a little lost anyway!” Abigal turned and made her way over to a table without waiting for Patton to follow, who trotted after her.

He was still taking in the whole room. Everything seemed different than how he’d imagined it or how it had been presented in all the tv shows he’d grown up with. The whole room wasn’t split into easily identifiable groups, at least not for the most part. It seemed like every friend group was mixed, and tables were split in some cases by two completely different groups of friends. He did notice a completely empty table that was left in the centre of the room, but before he could think about it too much, Patton found himself walking into Abigal.

Patton was pushed down into a free seat, while Abigal took the space opposite him and turned to the kid who sat next to her. They were wearing the fluffiest, most comfortable sweater Patton had ever seen, patterned with tiny pastel birds. Patton slowly began to pick at his food, while he observed the two students who he’d suddenly found himself with.

“Hey Asher! This is… uh… Patton, right?” Abigal’s voice rose as she awkwardly checked with Patton, who nodded, “Yeah, Patton! He’s a new year 7 that I showed around when I did that open day thing, and he’s finding it hard to remember how to get around the school and, like, where classrooms are and stuff. You can help him, right?” She leaned in towards Asher, grinning yet again.

Asher sighed softly and shuffled around inside their bag for a moment before producing a sketchpad. Patton watched closely as his fellow student began sketching out diagrams of the school from both above and the side.

“Asher is, like, so good at making these maps.” Abigal spoke as she eagerly began eating her lunch, “They made one for me when we first met, because I was always getting lost too. He’s just so amaz-” She was cut off by the loud laughter of a group that had just entered the room.

Patton turned to see who was making all the noise, only to instantly pick his brother out of the small group. He watched with curiosity as the whole group made their way over to the table he’d seen being left alone. He also noted the fact that a lot of the noise around the room had died down and a lot of other students were also watching them as they settled down. The sound of Abigal scoffing brought his attention back to his new-found companions, “What’s wrong?”

The girl refused to answer and avoided his gaze, so Patton turned his attention to Asher, who shook his head a little. They slid the hand-drawn map across the table towards Patton. Abigal’s hand slammed down onto the piece of paper before Patton could even attempt to put it away, causing all occupants of the table and some on adjacent tables to jump and stare in her direction.

“Who do they think they are? Like, really? They’re just awful, I swear.” Abigal growled, seemingly to herself as Asher went back to eating their food.

“Who are awful? What?” Patton asked, genuinely confused.

“Oh, you’re new, so you wouldn’t know.” Abigal sighed and steadied herself, “It’s that group, the guys that just walked in. They act like they’re just most powerful and important kids in the school or something, and it’s just so annoying.”

Patton looked over to the group, who’d begun eating. He felt like he should recall each of their names, he knew he recognised some of them since Roman probably had brought them all home at some point. Patton could distinctly remember seeing at least two of them around before, but he wasn’t entirely sure about the others. He decided to play long for a moment, “So, who are they?”

There was a moment where Patton could have sworn he saw Asher roll their eyes, but his attention was taken a hold of by Abigal straightaway as she began to explain.

“Okay so, there’s Roman Ashworth. Year 11. He’s the loud one, the one that’s sat up in the middle facing us. He’s like the leader, he’s always trying to get at this other kid, Logan Mortenson, and prove that he’s the best person in the school, but he’s totally not. He’s always in all the school plays, usually the lead because no one else really tries. The only reason he hangs out with most of those kids at the table is because they help him with his stupid schemes to get at Logan, who has always been on the student council.” Abigal waved the spoon she was holding as she spoke, before almost stabbing it into the yoghurt that sat in front of her.

Patton tried not to let it show that he knew either of the two boys that Abigal had mentioned, but he was still a little shaken by it. He didn’t want either of these two finding out about him being Roman’s little brother and suddenly having a negative opinion of him. What she was saying wasn’t sitting well with Patton. Roman may have been a little harsh a few times, and maybe he was a little obsessed with that Logan kid - Patton had heard his name so many times during dinner and through the door of Roman’s room - but he wasn’t actually that bad. He was a good brother and friend, he was! Patton felt himself losing a bit of his appetite but thankfully, Abigal didn’t seem to notice and continued rambling.

“Then there’s Declan Barrett. He’s in Year 10. He’s the one in the hat. He is super weird, like I swear he can go invisible or something! He just like disappears from right in front of you, I swear. One time, I didn’t see him for an entire week, but he was apparently still around, like Asher said to me that he was still sat at that table every day, but I swear on the life of my pet cat, I did not see him! It was like super weird.” She dropped her voice to a whisper as she leant across to Patton, “I think Roman uses him to set things up for all his pranks against Logan and to like sneak into places, because there was this other time when a kid said they saw Declan breaking into Logan’s locker and then, after school, everyone was posting about how Logan got pranked in his locker.”

“He’s also the only one who’s name doesn’t begin with R.” Asher added, almost sounding bored, as if he’d heard the whole rant far too many times before. Patton noticed the slightly fond smile Asher sent towards Abigal as she thanked them for their input.

Patton shifted his view from the girl telling him all the information to the group in question. He definitely remembered seeing Declan once or twice, but he swore the boy had short blonde hair last time he saw him, and he didn’t have any scars back then. He’d never been rude, but then Patton had never had a conversation with him, and now that he was thinking about it, he never had seen Declan actually leave his house. Maybe Abigal was right, maybe he could disappear, or maybe he was just really quiet. Patton knew from experience with Virgil that quiet people could sometimes seem like they just appear and disappear at random, and Virgil wasn’t bad so maybe this kid wasn’t either. But Abigal did seem to have her reasons for disliking them so much. Patton tried not to think about it too much, instead going back to listening.

Abigal continued, shoving more food into her mouth, “There’s the twins, Russell & Rufus Mosa. They’re in Year 11 with Roman. They’re just pure bullies. Pretty dumb, but like real strong. I can never remember which one is which, they are literally the same, I swear. They’re both on the same sports teams, all in the same classes. They just never leave each other. Someone said that they saw one of them hold a kid down as the other one beat him up at the park across the road in order to get the kid out of the way of one of Roman’s schemes, but they could never prove it. I believe it though! They’re actually terrifying and definitely the muscle of that group.”

Patton’s eyes grew wide as he took in the identical twins. He’d heard their names before as Roman was on the phone, but they both didn’t look familiar to him at all. Maybe Roman had decided against bringing them to their house? It was off-putting for his brother to have these scary friends, but Patton hoped that Roman saw something else in them that made it worth being close with them. But what if that story was true? It couldn’t be, and even if it was, it wouldn’t be his brother that had that happen… right? Patton suddenly had a memory of hearing a plan about “taking a kid out” as he walked by Roman’s open door one day. Suddenly, he felt slightly sick, but he must not have shown it as Abigal continued uninterrupted.

“Next is Remy Dormir, the one with the sunglasses. He’s also Year 11. If Roman’s the king, then Remy is totally the queen. He is like the biggest gossip of the whole school and like the embodiment of sass. He knows almost everything about everyone in the school. If you have a secret, you better not let anyone else know it’s a secret, because Remy will find out and probably share it. He’s not the worst, because he does things for himself compared to doing stuff for Roman, at least that’s what everyone says. I don’t know if I believe it, though he is easy to get on the good side of - just get him a weird Starbucks order and you’re golden.”

Remy was someone that Patton recognised easily. He’d definitely been around his house a lot, always talking that little bit too loudly and definitely came across as a gossip lover, especially considering how many times he’d come in talking about some new event that featured a new person. He’d been nice to Patton every time he’d been over, so Patton couldn’t exactly believe that he’d be an awful person. It just seemed like Remy liked to talk about other people, there were a lot of people like that or so Patton had been told. Nevertheless, he began to think about how he could make sure that him and Virgil hanging out and being friends never got to Remy, because that would definitely make it back to Roman and Patton didn’t want to even think about what would happen then.

“And the last is the worst of them all, Reggie Beauchêne.” Abigal shot a scowl over towards the table, “The one with the super long braids and gorgeous eyes. He’s the youngest, he’s only a year above me, being in Year 9. He’s basically just a second Remy, so think of him as the princess. Those two are basically as inseparable as the twins at this point. He’s just so annoying. For some reason, he just got like adopted by the group or something. He’s honestly just the worst of them all.” Patton expected her to stop there, but instead she continued, only getting faster and more frustrated, “Last year, he took part in the school talent show and he did this dance thing, and everyone was going crazy over it, fawning over him as if he was the best dancer in the whole school. Everyone was like ‘omg reggie, you’re so amazing and gorgeous, i wish i could dance like you’ and shit like that, but really, he wasn’t even that good. Like, yeah, sure, maybe it was like impossible to take your eyes off him and like maybe he was wearing this outfit that like only made him look hotter which should totally be impossible, but like it was just not even that special. Y’know what I mean?” Abigal scoffed again, rolling her eyes.

Patton raised his eyebrows, it definitely seemed like she didn’t exactly hate him, or at least didn’t hate him as much as she was trying to make him believe. He turned his attention back to the group, noticing how Remy and Reggie were mostly just talking between themselves, despite Roman being sat between them. They were passing a phone between each other, laughing to themselves about whatever was on it while Patton watched. Patton could recall getting a glance at Reggie once at his house, but that was all he knew, but if he were just like Remy, that didn’t seem like a bad thing at all. It was just another person to make sure he was aware of when Patton was going to hang out with Virgil, that’s all. 

“And yeah, so that’s the Royal Family.” Abigal shrugged, shoving the last of her food into her mouth.

“The Royal Family? Is that what people call them?”

“Yeah, totally, everyone does. Oh!” Abigal shot up from her seat, throwing her bag on quickly, “I gotta go, got stuff to do before lessons! Come sit with us at lunch again, Patton, if you ever don’t know where to sit! See ya!” She practically ran out of the room, waving back to them.

Asher laughed softly, pulling Patton’s attention back to him, “You know, she’s the only one who calls them the Royal Family.”

“Well, now she won’t be! I think that’s great! But, just a question… does she realise what she says?”

Asher shook their head, “Nah, she gets a bit carried away and just lets her thoughts out without thinking too much, but I just don’t bring it up. She’d get embarrassed if I did. Well, I gotta get to class. Don’t forget the map, and I’ll probably be seeing you around. Abi seems to like you, so you’ll be here often, I’m sure. See ya.”

“Oh, the map! I almost totally forgot!! Thanks Asher!” Patton smiled and carefully folded up the hand-drawn map, placing it in the front pocket of his bag. He quickly finished his own food and made his way to his next classroom, finally not getting lost due to the detailed map.

As he entered the classroom, he saw a familiar face that made him suddenly excited for the upcoming hour. Patton walked as fast as he could through maze of desks and sat next to the boy, “Hi!”

Virgil jumped and turned to his friend, the look of shock melting into a smile, “Don’t scare me like that, Pat.”

Patton apologised as he got out his books. The pair chatted happily as the classroom began to fill. They were both just so pleased to be able to have a time where they weren’t scared of being caught and they could just be the best friends they’d always been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abigal is my OC.
> 
> Reggie, Rufus and Russell belong to [not-so-innocent-bi-sander](http://not-so-innocent-bi-sander.tumblr.com/) on tumblr/[dramaticgarbage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticGarbage) on AO3
> 
> Asher belongs to [fangs-and-rainbows](http://fangs-and-rainbows.tumblr.com) on tumblr


	7. Revelations

Their first year at high school went surprisingly well. Patton and Virgil used before school and their shared class to catch up and spend time together. They did spend after school together for a while, but Patton ended up joining multiple after school clubs so that - if Virgil weren’t to stay or be busy with something - he wouldn’t be left alone waiting for his brother to finish his rehearsals.

This did mean that when Virgil started his music lessons, which happened to be at their school, and joined an after-school music club, their lives just matched up perfectly so that their commitments were opposing at all times. They only had one free after-school day on Thursdays, which they made the most of.

That was until Patton and Asher discussed creating a gardening club.

From the very beginning, everyone involved knew it was going to be relatively small. But Patton had grown extremely interested in Asher’s gardening knowledge and wanted to learn so much more, but their lunch hour just wasn’t enough time and there was no way for Asher to truly show Patton what they were talking about.

So, they went about starting their club. After roping Abigal into joining them, Patton searched out a few other people he knew, so the club wouldn’t be just the three of them. Asher was handling the form they needed to fill out anyway; he was the one who was going to be the head of the club.

One day, as Patton was sat outside the performance hall waiting for Roman’s rehearsal to finish, he met Sophia as she was leaving. Quickly, they struck up conversation. The next day, she came along to the table with Patton and the group managed to talk her into joining - at least on days she wasn’t needed for any rehearsals. Now, all that was left was finding a teacher, which Abigal set her sights on.

“Please, Miss Finch! Please!” Abigal begged the woman sat at the desk, practically on her knees. The rest of her would-be club were standing behind her, each staring at their friend with various reactions. Asher looked at Abigal with a fond exasperation, while Patton and Sophia shared glances that showed they were quite confused.

Miss Finch breathed out a soft laugh, trying not to smile too wide, “Abigal, you didn’t give me a chance to respond.” There was a moment where Abigal shot up to her feet, looking sheepish. The teacher couldn’t hold back her grin any longer. She decided to spare the young girl anymore embarrassment, though she wasn’t sure if Abigal even held the capacity for such a thing, “Do you have the form with you now?”

Asher stepped up and handed the teacher the almost-completed form. She ran her eyes down it, skimming each part. She made an intrigued noise as she reached the bottom before looking up to meet Patton’s gaze, “Ashworth? I suppose you’re related to Roman.”

Patton smiled awkwardly, keeping his eyes firmly on Miss Finch as she signed the bottom of the page. Nothing that was said by anyone surrounding him registered in Patton’s mind as she sent them on their way. That was until they got a little down the hallway.

Abigal stopped dead and grabbed Patton’s shoulders, staring at him intensely, “You’re the King’s brother?!” She practically shrieked. She seemed almost manic, her eyes darting around his face as if looking for a sign that it was all just a joke.

“Abi, did you really not recognise him?” Asher said, coming to stand beside Patton. Abigal shook her head, looking even more lost.

Sophia snorted behind both of them, “Yeah, Roman likes to show off all those pictures of him and his brother all the time. How could you not recognise him? Do you not pay much attention to him? What else would you be looking at?” Her voice lowered, and Patton could just imagine the sly look on her face.

Abigal began turning a little pink and went to open her mouth when…

“Hey! Leave him alone!”

All four of them looked behind Patton to see Virgil standing a little down the corridor. He had an aura of intimidation, which was only helped by his dark clothing. However, Patton could see the slight fear in his eyes and the shake of his fists. It made his heart ache and he quickly tried to diffuse the situation before it got any worse.

“Virgil, it’s okay! They’re not doing anything. They’re my friends!”

Virgil relaxed a little, but still seemed wary as he approached the group. Abigal took equal steps away from Patton as Virgil did as he closed in. She ended up hiding behind Sophia, peeking out from behind her, seemingly in fear. Patton was finally able to face his friend fully. He walked forward to greet his friend, wanting desperately to hug him but knowing it was a little too dangerous to do so. They could never be sure of who was going to come around the corner next.

Patton stood beside Virgil with a warm smile, “Everyone, this is Virgil, my bestest friend since preschool! Virgil, this is Abigal and Asher and Sophia, we’re starting a gardening club!”

They stood for a moment, chatting amicably about themselves, when Sophia suddenly asked a question that seemed to have no easy answer, “If you guys are such ‘bestest friends’, then how come Virgil doesn’t sit with you at lunch or hang out with you at breaks?”

Patton could feel the white-hot fear drip through his body as he attempted to come up with a response. He looked to Virgil for help, but only got a mirrored reaction from his friend. They seemed to have a silent conversation, ending with Virgil turning back to the other three students.

“Well, you see, I’m just… busy, around those times. With music. And practice.”

“Y-yeah! Virgil’s been learning guitar, and he’s super good, but he always wants to be better, right, Virge?”

“Mhm, and so that’s why I, just, uh, don’t hang around, a lot…” Virgil trailed off, not meeting anyone’s eyes. This seemed to quell their curiosity for the moment, none seemingly willing to push either of the two boys further - though Sophia looked about ready to pounce Virgil if he even looked at Patton in any way that could be deemed bad. They eventually split, with the group heading to hand in the form to make their club official.

Later that day, Patton was also able to convince two other students from his classes to join the club - Daniel, who Patton had become close with during a project, and Thomas, a boy that Patton had known for so long, they may as well have been related. It was all going so well, but Patton still spent so little time with his best friend.

“Hey Virge?”

“Hm?”

The pair of friends were sat at their usual table, waiting for school to start. It was the day after the club had been officially created. Virgil was in the middle of some homework he’d forgotten to get done the night before but paused it to look up at his best friend.

“Would you want to join the gardening club?” Patton asked. Before Virgil could even think about it too long, Patton began to reassure him, “It’s totally okay if you don’t want to. I mean, I understand. I just thought you might want to, and we could spend more time together, and you could meet everyone else properly, and-”

“It’s okay, Pat, really.” Virgil smiled fondly, “It could be cool, but gardening really isn’t my thing, y’know?” His expression faltered for a moment, looking conflicted.

Patton felt his stomach begin to churn. He didn’t like that look on Virgil’s face, he wanted his Virgil to be happy. He wanted them to just be the friends they’d always been, wanted to share so much more time together, be able to laugh together without feeling awkward, to be able to share lunch and friends. Sure, he’d been doing it for Virgil’s safety and so that Roman didn’t suddenly start attacking his best friend in the way he’d seen him go after Logan, but that didn’t explain Virgil’s similar behaviour. His thoughts were swirling down a vortex in his mind, leading to the only explanation of Virgil not wanting to be friends anymore because he’d finally seen what Patton’s brother was like. Patton braced himself for the worst news when he heard Virgil inhale and begin to speak.

“Patton, I need to tell you something. Something I’ve… not been honest about…”

Patton could feel the tears pricking at his eyes. He looked up to Virgil, attempting to meet his eyes but not being able to. Here it comes, he thought sadly.

“Patton… I was asked to keep my distance from you, while here at school, by my brother… He-” Virgil paused, seemingly searching for the right words, “He just didn’t want your brother turning on me as well, because I was close to you… He said that your brother would turn on me as well, or something… I dunno. I just, I wanted to make everything… okay? I guess?” If it were possible, Virgil may have scratched a hole in the back of his neck during his confession from the amount of times he focused on the same spot. It felt great to get this off his chest, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t extremely worried about what Patton was going to say next.

Patton was staring at him in shock, almost frozen in place. Then he began to smile, and giggles bubbled up and out of his mouth. He couldn’t help it; the stress and worries were finally being released. Virgil couldn’t help but laugh alongside Patton, the laughter being far too infectious. Slowly, they calmed, and Patton continued to smile and let out gentle short laughs as he began to speak.

“Y’know, Virgil, that explains a lot. I’ve also been doing the same! I’ve known for so so so long that you were Logan’s brother, because my brother told me about you and how you were a bad person because you were his brother who is a bad person. But I don’t believe that! Your brother isn’t so bad, and you are definitely not bad! I just knew that, if Roman saw us together, he’d probably get mad and do something bad to you! I’ve seen everything he’s done to Logan.” And heard a lot more he wished he could do, Patton internalised. He didn’t want to scare Virgil or worry him, “I just wanted to make sure we were okay! …Are we okay?”

“Yeah, Patton, we’re okay.”

That morning, they made a promise. They would look out for each other, enjoying and relishing in every moment they could possibly spend together as of right now. But, as soon as the time came that they were free of their brothers’ ever-present gaze, they’d be sure to catch up and spend as much time as they could together.

Both of them began to collect their things before making their way to their classes. Patton only had to shoulder his bag, while Virgil was crouched as he put his books away. This let Patton notice the large red mark on the back of his neck.

“Virgie… I told you, you shouldn’t scratch so much…” Patton lightly scolded as he instinctively reached out to brush his fingers against the red mark. He only softly ran his hand over it, “Does it hurt? It looks pretty bad this time.” Patton then busied himself, searching in his bag for a small plaster, “If you’re not careful, you’ll end up bleeding one of these days, y’know…”

Virgil, meanwhile, was as still as he could be. There was something about Patton’s light touch at the back of his neck that made him blush and gave him the feeling of butterflies in his stomach. The gentle voice he used was only adding to his reddening cheeks. An almost imperceivably small shudder ran through his body as his friend smoothed the small covering over the self-inflicted mark. Virgil could almost swear that the world around them didn’t exist in this moment, and that it stretched on forever.

Then they were rudely brought out of their thoughts by the loud shouts of a teacher, informing the straggling students lingering in the area that classes were starting in just a few minutes and that they were to be late if they didn’t hurry up.

Virgil shot up, bag swinging as he almost tripped in his sudden haste. He turned to look at Patton, cheeks still flushed. He found that his friend was almost mirroring himself. They began to speak at the same moment, “I’ll see you tomorrow!” They laughed gently, Virgil slowly backing away towards the corridor, “Yeah, tomorrow.”

“Mhm, yeah, see ya.” Patton waved as he then went the opposite direction, eyes flicking back to Virgil multiple times before they were both out of each other’s vision. As he made his way to the classroom and to his seat, Virgil was trying to make sense of what was happening. He felt energy coursing through him, but also felt fairly calm. It was so different, but not inherently awful. The teacher entered and began the class, pulling Virgil back to reality. He’d have time to think about it later anyway.


	8. New Friends

Now that the weight of the secrets had lifted from both Virgil and Patton’s shoulders, life fell back into normalcy. Both of them were enjoying whatever time they could spend with each other, while also spending time with their friends and families.

Virgil was paired with two students from his art class for a project which kickstarted a friendship between the three of them. It wasn’t until Valentine’s Day rolled around that Virgil was even aware that Ana and Em were dating and it was all because Ana was in the middle of giving Em a piece of art they’d made specifically for the holiday when Virgil took up his seat next to them.

He thought he’d be bothered by his only other two friends dating, but he soon settled into his third wheel role, poking fun at the couple on a regular basis. Learning from his experience with Patton, he was quick to tell them about Logan, which had both of them offering their sympathies as they were more than aware of the crap Logan went through on an almost weekly basis.

They’d all found a secluded spot in the school’s courtyard where they spent their breaks and lunch. Virgil knew it was out of the way from most people and would likely be the best place for him and Patton to start spending more time together, but he was still a little too worried about Roman’s wrath to even bring up the idea with Patton.

Speaking of Roman, Virgil had finally been able to see how Roman’s vendetta actually affected his brother. He watched as Logan opened his locker, only to find glitter pour all over the floor and himself, he found himself tearing down posters containing what seemed like confidential information about his brother. It was infuriating that Roman and his lackeys could get away with all of this with little to no reprimanding. At least he had his friends and his music to fall back on when it all got too much.

Virgil absolutely loved his music lessons. He was enjoying learning the guitar, but he’d branched out to several other instruments as the time went on. His parents were more than happy to allow him this, both of them ecstatic that Virgil had found something he was truly passionate about.

All his lessons were in the same room at the same time every week. He was heading to the room one Friday but found that there was something unfamiliar playing through the door as he approached. The boy peeked through the glass of the door to see a person with possibly the longest ginger hair he’d ever seen playing the piano. Virgil quietly opened the door and slipped inside, leaning against the wall as he listened to the person play, it was a beautiful sound and they were already really good.

They finished the song a few moments later and paused. Virgil stepped forward, “You’re really good.” He was caught off guard when the person jumped up and turned to face him. They seemed to hide in their hair, which covered half of their face. They looked extremely nervous, almost apologetic.

Before Virgil could even ask them if they were okay, his teacher stepped into the room. “Ah! Both of you are here, good. Virgil, Ayana. Ayana, Virgil. Both of you are going to be taking part in these sessions as you’re both at similar stages in your lessons.” Both of them nodded in understanding and took seats in the plastic chairs already provided at the side of the piano.

The lesson ran for an hour but felt like it was only a few minutes. Virgil shouldered his bag and thanked the teacher, he waited outside the room for Ayana, wanting to ask her some questions. When she emerged, she looked at him with some fear but ultimately allowed him the chance to walk alongside her as they exited the school.

Virgil quickly learnt that Ayana was the shyest person he would likely ever meet. Her voice was soft and meek on the odd chance she spoke or answered a question, but she seemed all around to be a sweet person. He found out she was a year below him, and he immediately felt responsible for looking out for her. They walked down to the car park and Virgil offered Ayana the idea of eating lunch with him and his two other friends, he promised it would be quiet and away from a lot of the other students. She said she’d consider it before running off towards a dark blue car, where she paused and awkwardly waved back to him before darting inside.

A few weeks later, Virgil arrived at the secluded spot to sit with Ana and Em, only to find Ayana hanging around. He approached her carefully, trying not to startle her again. He managed to convince her to come along with him and they both took seats with the couple. Virgil introduced Ayana, but he’d already warned the pair to be a little soft with the young girl as she was so quiet and shy. By the end of lunch, Ayana seemed to be enjoying herself and nodded when he asked if she was coming back tomorrow.

His friend group was small and a little random, but he wouldn’t ask for anything more. Virgil got to enjoy his days, have more things to look forward to and just have more people to talk to. It wasn’t perfect, but it certainly made him happier.

One week, Virgil’s music lesson was cancelled due to the teacher being off ill and he mentioned it to Patton that morning.

Patton immediately grasped his hands, holding them between his own, “We can walk out of school together!”

“Pat, you know we can’t do that… Brothers, remember?” Virgil was only being reasonable. His mind was currently in two parts; one thinking about what Patton had suggested and the other wondering how Patton’s hands were so soft and warm and how he’d never noticed it before.

Patton still looked at him with excitement shining through his eyes, “You forget, Virgil. Roman has his rehearsals tonight so he’ll be busy, and Logan has a debate today after school, so he’ll be busy with that!”

“Well, what about the rest of Roman’s group? Won’t they notice?” Virgil really didn’t want to get his hopes up, but it was looking like it could be possible for him and Patton to actually spend a little more time together. Also, he wondered when Patton had gotten so close to him and when he’d gained all of the freckles across his cheeks and why his brain was wanting to reach out and brush against them.

Patton got closer still, almost brushing his nose against Virgil as he whispered, “I know they’re all busy with a new, big Logan thing. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it, if you want. You know, when we’re walking out of the school together!”

Virgil searched his friend’s eyes before sighing. “Okay, you convinced me. We’ll walk out together.” He said with a shrug. He was trying desperately to understand why a part of him was thinking about how nice Patton’s eyes were with the little green flecks dotted in the brown irises.

Patton grinned widely and hugged Virgil tightly, “Yes! I’m so excited! We have the last class of the day together as well, so we can just go to lockers and then head out!”

Virgil awkwardly hugged back, acutely aware of how he could suddenly notice that Patton smelled oddly of cookies and something plant-like or kinda fresh smelling? He couldn’t quite place it for sure, but it was gorgeous and just perfectly Patton. He missed it when Patton pulled away and began getting ready to stand and leave for classes. Virgil stayed sitting, almost in a trance.

“Virge?”

“Huh?”

He was roughly pulled from his thoughts as Patton called for him. Virgil began feeling his face warm as he realised that he’d obviously been distracted. He quickly sorted himself out and headed off to class, giving Patton little to no time to say goodbye for the day.

Virgil racked his brain all day but couldn’t understand why he was suddenly noticing all these new details about his friend or why he felt he wanted to simply have Patton hold him forever, why he wanted to somehow find a way to bottle that distinctly Patton-like smell and keep it with him for whenever he missed him. He was still thinking when lunch rolled around, and he met up with his friends.

He was clearly acting off as Ana quickly questioned him on it, “Okay, what’s up with you? You look like it hurts to think as much as you are.”

Virgil shrugged, trying to be nonchalant while also hoping that his face wasn’t too red, “Just trying to figure something out, that’s all.” He began fidgeting with his sleeves, trying to release some of his nervous energy.

“What are you trying to figure out?” Ana asked quickly, taking a sip from the bottle they were handed by Em.

“Just a personal thing, it’s no big deal.”

“Oooo! Personal, eh? What is it?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t just say that and expect us to take it!”

“Ana, drop it. He clearly doesn’t want to talk about it.” Em chastised.

Ana turned to their partner, “But I wanna know!”

As the couple began to bicker, Virgil tried to calm himself down and return back to his thoughts, but then a hand lightly rested against his upper arm and he turned to look at the person it belonged to.

Ayana quickly pulled her hand away and looked sheepish, “Sorry, I just… I wanted to let you know, it’s okay to not talk about it… There are somethings you just, need to figure out yourself… but if you ever wanted to talk about it, not that you ever have to, of course, but if you did… we’re all here…”

Virgil’s mouth almost fell open and the couple opposite him had fallen silent. Ayana looked around at them all before beginning to curl in on herself, “What…? Did I say something wrong?” Her voice was even softer, her hair falling even further across her face.

“That was the most I’ve ever heard you speak.” Ana said, almost incredulous.

“And it was so cute…” Em looked at her as though she were a proud mother watching her child grow up.

Virgil smiled and rested his own hand on Ayana’s shoulder, “Thanks Ayana, I’ll remember that.”

The younger girl’s face was blood red, but she looked pleased and she smiled, then she giggled. All of them couldn’t help but smile with her. From that day, they vowed to fight for this pure girl who they’d seemed to adopt as well as support each other in anyway they could. It was a promise and a pact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayana is my OC.
> 
> Ana and Em both belong to [Fangsandrainbows](https://fangsandrainbows.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.


	9. Walking Home

Patton kept checking the clock every chance he could. Only another five more minutes. It felt like it was moving even slower than normal. He fidgeted constantly, glancing around the room. He couldn’t focus on what the teacher was saying, he was too excited. Patton felt himself almost inflate with even more excitement as he looked over to where his best friend sat next to him. The boy was looking out the classroom window, clearly distracted and bored.

Patton looked back up to the clock to find it down to three minutes left. Why did time go so slow when he wanted it to go fast! He slumped onto his desk, tapping his fingers impatiently. He watched as the seconds ticked by. Two minutes left. He started tapping in time with the second hand of the clock. He took another glance at the teacher who was finally wrapping up whatever they were talking about.

With one-minute left, the teacher was just starting to describe the homework they were setting the class. Patton was just itching to grab his bag and leave, but the teacher hadn’t finished and wasn’t going to let them go until they were done setting the homework for the weekend. The clock hit the hour and they should have been free, but the teacher was still talking and writing things on the board. Patton wasn’t listening as he was joining his fellow classmates in packing away his things as quick as humanly possible.

Two minutes past the end of school, the kids were finally released. Patton and Virgil had already agreed to meet at their usual morning table after getting to their lockers and grabbing their belongings, and so they split to go in separate directions.

Patton bounced his way through the halls, happily humming to himself. He reached his locker with no problem and eagerly stuffed all of his things into his bag before slinging it onto his shoulder as he shut the metal door. He made his way to the table below the reception area, rocking back and forth on his feet to use up some of his energy. He looked around impatiently, keeping his eyes peeled for Virgil’s form moving through the crowds of kids eagerly trying to escape to the freedom of the weekend.

A voice calling out to him startled him slightly, “Hey Patton!” He turned and saw Abigal making her way over to him with a large smile, “What are you doing waiting over here?”

“Waiting for my best friend!”

“Ohhhh, that elusive best friend you talk about and that we met once who was really dark and spooky and scary?”

Patton pouted, “Virgil’s not spooky! He just likes to wear dark clothes. And he’s not scary either. He was just looking out for me.”

The girl shrugged, “Whatever you say.” She turned to leave, but instead made a full 360-degree spin on the spot, “If I waited here with you, would I get to meet him for real?”

“Uh… I guess so?” Patton stared at his friend, tilting his head like a little confused puppy. Abigal smiled and leaned against the table next to him, striking up a conversation in no time. Patton still wasn’t sure what ‘meet him for real’ meant, but he pushed it aside in order to focus on enjoying his time with his friend.

A few minutes passed and still no sign of Virgil. Patton was beginning to get a little nervous that something had happened to his best friend, but he was still going to stubbornly wait for him. As he was thinking about how much he wished Virgil were here, one of Roman’s friends walked past. Patton eyes widened with panic, gaze darting all over the room to check for the possibility of an approaching Virgil, which made Abigal turn to see what the cause was. Her voice caught in her throat and she made an awkward croaking noise as the boy got close, causing her hand to slap over her mouth to try and stop it from reaching anyone.

Sadly for her, he heard the odd noise and looked over to the pair staring at him. He smiled effortlessly and casually made his way over to stand in front of them, “Hey, Roman’s little brother, right?”

Patton gave as genuine of a smile as he could in the moment, “Yeah, uh, hey Reggie. Um…” He trailed off, trying to think of what he should say, while thoughts of being caught waiting for Virgil ran in circles through his brain.

Thankfully, Reggie continued, “I’ve only seen you in passing and realised I never caught your name. I would have introduced myself, but you already seem to know me.”

“Oh! My name’s Patton, yeah!”

“And your mute friend?” The older boy’s gaze fell on Abigal’s statue-like body, who was slowly turning a similar shade of pink to the streak that ran through her hair.

Patton waited for her to say something, but she remained utterly silent. Her mouth hung slightly open and twitched as she clearly attempted to speak. Both of the boys shared a quick glance, where Patton attempted to look apologetic while Reggie just seemed amused, before Patton spoke for her, “Abigal. Her name is Abigal.” The girl nodded gently, as if his statement needed corroboration.

“Patton and Abigal. I’ll have to remember those. Hopefully, I’ll see you both around.” Reggie looked them both up and down as he spoke. He locked eyes once again with the Abigal statue, winking at her before he turned to head up the stairs, “Have a nice weekend.”

As soon as he was out of earshot, Patton turned and shook Abigal, who was slowly falling off the table, “Are you okay?”

Thanks to Patton, Abigal seemed to be coming back to herself, though she seemed to still be in shock, “Oh my god, what just happened… Did I just have an out of body experience? Was that a dream? Pinch me.” Her arm raised in front of Patton, who was watching Abigal with concern. He complied with her request however and gently pinched her forearm. She quickly pulled it away, clearly feeling the pain, “Ow!”

“You asked me to!” Patton held his hands up as the girl pouted at him, clearly not happy with his obedience with her request.

Abigal rubbed her pained forearm, turning away from her friend slightly in a clear attempt to hide her shame. She was clearly upset with herself, so Patton threw an arm around her and gave her a gentle hug. He went to tell her everything was fine, that Reggie seemed to take it well, but Virgil appeared before he could utter a word of it.

“I am so sorry I took so long.” Virgil was panting heavily, hunched over as he attempted to catch his breath, “I needed to get something. I finally finished it earlier in class, but had to run and get it, got stopped by the teacher, then ran all the way here…” He held out what seemed to be a simple flowerpot with some flowers painted on it. Patton removed his arm from around Abigal and took it from his exhausted friend, turning it all around to inspect the flowers.

It was only once he could see it up close that he realised how detailed it really was. Surrounding the sides was an intricately patterned daisy chain that spiralled around the circumference multiple times. In certain sections, daisies were coloured differently and the stems between were changed to look like simple paperchains. As Patton turned the pot slowly in his hands, he saw the smallest of the details and it made his breath catch in his throat. In between two of the coloured daisies on the paperchain stem were two very hard to read words, but Patton could see that it was their names, in the exact same way they’d done them back in preschool.

Slowly, the pot was lowered out of his vision and Patton could see the now sheepish face of Virgil watching him intently, seeing his reaction. There was no warning as Patton practically threw himself at Virgil, hugging him tightly as he thanked him. Virgil returned the hug, feeling his face grow warm and a gentle smile grow on his face. Eventually, they separated.

“Yeah, I really wanted it to be done for your birthday since it was at the beginning of the year and it’s been like almost 10 years since we became friends, and I just wanted to do something like that for you, especially after you made me that cool guitar cover thing, but yeah, uh, sorry, I guess?” Virgil rambled, clearly nervous.

Patton only laughed and looked over the flowerpot one more time before carefully putting it in his bag, “I love it. It’s amazing, Virge.” He looked at his best friend with shared pink tinged cheeks and a similar warm smile.

The two automatically started walking up the stairs and out of the school. Behind them, still resting against the table, Abigal shook her head, “Wow, those two have the biggest crushes I’ve ever seen in my whole life…” She watched as the pair exited through the double doors at the top before pulling out a notepad and beginning to scrawl something onto its pages as she walked off after them.

Patton and Virgil enjoyed their time immensely. They both knew it was only going to be short, but it was something they hadn’t gotten to do in such a long time that it felt special. They reached the end of the pathway that lead down into the school and hovered there for a moment.

“Well, I’m heading that way…” Virgil indicated behind him with his hand. He went to say goodbye, but Patton cut him off.

“So am I.”

They stood in silence for a moment, watching each other. Then they spoke at the same time.

“Want to walk together?”

They laughed. Patton grabbed Virgil’s arm and turned him around, practically dragging him along behind, “C’mon Virgil, let’s go!” The excitable boy’s wide grin and continuous laughter was infectious, and Virgil couldn’t help joining him. Eventually, they settled into a comfortable pace alongside each other and continued on their way home.

Both expected to have to part at some point, but at each turning, they found themselves both going the same way. They continued to marvel at how close they must live to one another, laughing about how they’d never realised in the whole time they’d been friends.

“Next, you’ll be telling me this is your street.” Virgil quipped as they reached the street where he lived. He honestly didn’t expect Patton to keep walking past him and head down the street he just pointed out.

After realising Virgil had clearly stopped at the corner, the other boy turned around and began walking backwards as he stuck his tongue out at Virgil.

“Hey! Wait up!” Virgil ran to catch up, “Are you kidding me? You live down here?” He said as he fell into step alongside his friend.

Patton turned back around, matching Virgil’s pace once again, “Yeah, I do. It’s pretty crazy, but I guess we’ll find out where we both live today! That’s exciting!”

Only a minute’s walk later, both Patton and Virgil stopped. Patton pointed across the road, “That’s my house, right there. I gu-“

“No. Fucking. Way.”

“Virgil! Language!” Patton swatted at Virgil’s arm lightly.

Virgil dodged and laughed in response, “Sorry, it’s just, this is my house.” He pointed to the one they’d stopped in front of.

Patton’s eyes grew wide, “We live across the street from each other?!” His eyes were shining as if he’d received the most amazing present of all time. He began to bounce up and down a little, “Okay, okay. My bedroom is that one, right up there.” He pointed to a high up window on the right side of the house before turning to see about his friend.

Virgil’s mouth dropped open, “Mine is right there.” He pointed to a similar window that was almost in-line with Patton’s on his own house.

The excitable boy squealed loudly, unable to contain himself any longer. He hugged Virgil extremely tightly, only stopping when he heard his friend’s strained voice, “I’m so sorry, Virgil, but I couldn’t help it, this is the best news ever! We live across the street from each other, which means we could walk home like this again and we could hang out more and we-”

Before Patton could finish, Virgil’s phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, “Hey Dad. I’m almost home. Yeah, be there soon. Okay, bye.” He turned his full attention back to Patton, “Sorry, gotta get in. Dad needs help with dinner and I’m the only one who’s gonna be home…”

“That’s okay! Go help your dad. See you Monday morning?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

Patton waved as he ran across the road and entered his house. Virgil followed his example and went into his own home. With a quick peak into the home office to let his dad know he was home, Virgil took the stairs two at a time to get into his bedroom as fast as he could. His bag was thrown onto the dark bedsheets as the boy opened the similarly coloured curtains a little wider, letting more afternoon sun fall into his room.

Across the street, Virgil could just about make out Patton moving in his room. He seemed to be getting something ready, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Virgil took a couple of minutes to take his books and notepads out of his bag, keeping an eye on the house opposite the entire time. After throwing the bag under his desk, he lay down on the bedsheets and stared at the ceiling of his room.

It felt like a dream. Patton, his best friend since forever, lived across the street from him. Their rooms were almost perfectly aligned. It felt too good to be true, but it was true. Virgil just continued to think until he was interrupted by his dad calling him down. Groaning a little, he rolled back up onto his feet and made his way to the bedroom door.

Something made him turn around to look out the window one more time. Virgil was grateful that he did, as he was able to notice Patton putting the daisy chain flowerpot onto his windowsill. They managed to catch each other’s eyes. Patton waved, and Virgil returned it with a soft smile before heading through his door and down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abigal's such a damn mess and I love her for it.


	10. Coming Out?

It was a little over a week since Patton and Virgil had found that they lived opposite each other when the notes began to appear.

Before school one day, Patton handed Virgil some markers before he ran off to get to classes for the day. The boy inspected the packaging and found they were to be used on glass and were also erasable. It was a cute gift, with all the different colours, but Virgil was still a little confused as to why he’d been given them.

Only when he got home did Virgil get a chance to try out the markers. He was sat at his desk, trying to get through some of his homework but was easily getting bored. The desk lamp was already messing with his eyes, but he didn’t want to open his curtains anymore than he already had and the sun was about to start going down anyway. Virgil leaned against the back of the chair, looking around his room as he sighed. His eyes were drawn to the empty glass that sat in the far back corner and then to his bag thrown up against the end of his bed. Soon, the packet was left open and empty as the pens flooded his desk, the glass now placed in the centre of the open notepad.

Virgil experimented carefully, seeing how all the colours came out and how well they erased from the glass. He moved onto simple doodles and then to coloured images, until he had the entire glass covered with art.

The glass was placed back down on the desk, back in the centre of the notebook. The desk lamp’s light shining through made shadows of the pictures appear against the wood of his desk, along with the grey carpet and similarly coloured walls. Virgil began to spin the glass absentmindedly as he got lost in thought, only vaguely watching as the shadows of his creations moved with the glass.

A sudden, loud buzz and thud from behind him jolted Virgil out of the quiet moment. He jumped from the surprise, almost knocking over the glass in the process. The glass was returned to the back of his desk before Virgil got up to see what the noise was. He searched around his bed, knowing that he’d left his phone over here somewhere when he got home.

It took a few minutes, but eventually he caught a glimpse of white My Chemical Romance logo that was splashed onto the back of his phone case. Virgil grasped a hold of the device and sat down on his bed as he unlocked his phone. While he was a little frustrated at having to search for his phone, he couldn’t stay mad for long as he saw the text.

_Fermata:  
I had an idea!_

_Ivy:  
What is it?_

_Fermata:  
Look out your window!_

Virgil was instantly up on his feet. He made his way over to his windows and stared at the one opposite.

He immediately smiled as he saw his friend waving through the glass enthusiastically, while also pointing to the new addition to it. It was a little messy and some of the letters were oddly written or backwards, but Virgil could make out the words; “What do you think?”

The glass markers were quickly gathered up and put onto the windowsill, so Virgil could respond; “Its great.”

From that day forward, Virgil and Patton began putting little notes on their windows. It could be something as simple as a greeting if they hadn’t seen each other all day, but others would get a little more elaborate.

If Patton had been telling Virgil about a bad day he was having, Virgil would sometimes put a drawing on his window with a simple message. Some days, Patton would put up small reminders for Virgil that were vague to anyone else viewing them. It became a regular thing, so much so that the two were looking out their windows a few times each day, just to find out if anything new was written or drawn on the opposite.

The weeks passed by with little change in their lives. Summer came and, before they knew it, their second year in high school was over. Virgil spent most of his time in his room, not really having a reason to go out unless any of his friends asked him specifically. Patton found himself out a fair amount, still working with his gardening group or just enjoying the summer sun. They both followed the tradition of checking out their windows a few times a day, but it was less frequent that messages or pictures would change.

It was during one of these routine viewings that Virgil noticed something new in the background of Patton’s room. He only had a small snapshot of his friend’s room, but he’d seen it so many times that it was almost permanently etched into his memory at this point. So, this new addition was a little off-putting and more than interesting.

Instead of the usual expanse of the patterned wall, a full rainbow of colours now hung in the middle of it. It wasn’t huge, but it was definitely noticeable due to its contrast with the pale colours of the wall. Virgil stared at it for a while, thoughts swirling in his head. He knew the implications of it, he knew would it could mean, but he wasn’t sure if that was what it actually did mean.

Patton liked to change up the decorations in his room frequently, adding more and moving things around. Other than his flowerpot, it always seemed like Virgil would see a new set of things on Patton’s windowsill every other week, but this was the first time Patton had added something to his walls, at least as far as Virgil could see.

The rest of the day was filled with Virgil thinking and rethinking the same thoughts. The ideas and worries and theories as to why Patton wouldn’t tell him swirled around and around, almost causing a tornado of thoughts. When it finally became too much, Virgil threw himself off of his bed and made his way to the door across the hall and knocked quietly.

He fidgeted, listening closely to the sounds coming from within the room. The door opened, and Virgil looked up at his brother, trying hard to not visibly show how nervous he felt.

“Is everything alright, Virgil?” Logan stood in the doorway, seemingly analysing his younger brother’s behaviour.

“Can I… talk to you, for a bit?”

Logan moved to the side and allowed Virgil to enter his room. Virgil immediately beelined to sit on the edge of the bed, while Logan turned his desk chair around before seating himself down, “What’s on your mind?”

Virgil slowly opened up about his thoughts. He was careful to pick and choose the bits of information he brought up. He left out anything that could indicate it was Patton he was talking about and he changed a few of the story points to accommodate this, but he was entirely truthful about what was on his mind.

Not once did he make eye contact with his brother as he spoke, instead Virgil was more than happy to stare at the floor and his hands. Logan was clearly fine with this as he didn’t attempt to interfere, just letting his brother open up to him. It wasn’t often both of them had moments like this, but they always felt special when they did pop up.

Once Virgil was obviously finished, Logan spoke, “So, your concern is that your friend may have realised something fairly substantial about themselves but has not contacted you in order to let you know and you don’t wish to make assumptions, correct?”

Virgil nodded, a little embarrassed that it took his brother only seconds to recap everything he’d just spent minutes on telling him.

“Why would it matter that they told you?”

The younger Mortenson’s gaze finally locked with the older’s. Virgil could see the analytical gaze piercing him yet again and he was finding himself feeling extremely self-conscious. It was almost as though Logan was trying to read his thoughts in order to prove some hypothesis that he already knew the answer to and it didn’t sit well with Virgil at all. His response to this was to become extremely defensive.

“It doesn’t really matter, I guess… but it’s just that we’re friends and I don’t, I dunno, feel like they would, keep something like that from me…” Virgil sighed and rolled his eyes, “It was stupid to tell you, it’s nothing, whatever.” He moved to leave, but Logan’s hand rested on his shoulder before he could reach the door.

“It is far from stupid to talk about things, Virgil. We’ve had that conversation on multiple occasions. I was only asking to find out what you thought. I have some idea as to why you are so invested in finding out this information, so please sit back down.”

Virgil rolled his eyes again and shrugged Logan’s hand off but went to sit back down on the bed anyway. While he wasn’t happy about the possibility of being his brother’s latest experiment or whatever he’d call this, he really did want to know why he was so fixated on all of this.

“Thank you. Now, there is a chance that this is a product of your anxiety. You are worried that this friend of yours doesn’t trust you with information, or you are concerned that you will make the wrong assumption and damage your friendship in the process. But how would you damage a friendship by only assuming their sexuality, you may ask?”

“I don’t need to ask…” Virgil muttered under his breath, looking towards the bay window that overlooked their backyard. He heard Logan pause and so glanced back to see the slightly irritated look that was sent his way. Virgil offered only a small mischievous smile in return, which was met with a sigh of resignation before Logan continued.

“Ignoring that, there is the likely chance that you are worried about ruining the friendship by the possible expectation of it progressing past that, to something that may be romantic. This could be either from your friend to you, or from you to your friend. Either way, a part of your thought process is likely fixating on this. Now, it is only my assumption based on the way you presented your thoughts to me, but I believe this to be the case.”

Virgil was back to staring at his hands. He felt a little shocked at what his brother just said. Was he really thinking that? It honestly sounded right, and his gut was telling him his brother was right, but was he really? Was Virgil… really… maybe… actually… interested in something like that?

He racked his brain in the silence of the room. He thought back to everything he could recall. He’d never thought about romance or attraction until just now. Sure, some of his friends were dating and a few of the people around him had asked him once or twice about potential girlfriends, but he’d never sat down and just thought about it.

As Virgil got lost in his mind, Logan took a seat and waited. He was not about to push his brother for a response, instead he just kept an eye on him. When he saw that Virgil was beginning to shake a little, Logan was immediately in the space next to him. He cautiously rested an arm around his younger brother, giving him the space and opportunity to push him away.

The two Mortenson brothers sat on the bed in silence. Logan knew he should be doing something to look after Virgil, but he wasn’t exactly good at comfort. The only thing he could think of to do would be to somehow create a bond between himself and Virgil’s worries and that’s exactly what he did.

“Virgil, may I be open with you as you have been with me?”

There was a soft noise as Virgil looked at him, nodding whilst also looking concerned and confused.

“I have been in your situation. I have questioned what I never thought to question. I knew I had to find the answer myself and I thought it would be simple, there would be that immediate answer right in front of me that I just had to see. But that is not how it works, unfortunately. It may take some time and you may assume something that turns out to change in the future, but when you do find that answer, everything will be fine, no matter what it is.”

A long pause stretched between them.

“So…? What was it?” Virgil asked. He had yet another gut feeling as to what it could be that his brother was trying to say, but he still didn’t want to assume, just in case.

Logan smiled at his brother, a rare soft smile that Virgil could only remember seeing once or twice before, “I realised I was gay, Virgil, and that no one in my life seemed to mind. I’m assuming you weren’t paying much attention that day.”

Virgil looked terrified, trying to think back to what Logan could be talking about. His eyes frantically darted around as if he was trying to look for something that would spark the memory, but he was quickly interrupted by Logan’s laughter. “What?!”

Logan took a moment to compose himself a little, “Oh, Virgil. You really are easy to tease. You were ill that day and so weren’t at dinner when I told our parents.”

It was a few seconds before Virgil threw Logan’s arm off him, “Get off me, you dick. That wasn’t funny!” He was betraying himself with the slight upturn of the corners of his lips, but he didn’t exactly try to stop it from happening.

Eventually, Logan calmed back to his usual manner. The two brothers were still looking fairly amused at the situation, but Virgil still had a few things to say.

“That was pretty fucked up, Logan.”

“I do apologise. It wasn’t my intention to stress you out, it was just an opportunity that presented itself that I decided to take.”

“Yeah, well, next time, maybe don’t?”

“I’ll be sure to consider that.”

Virgil smiled again and stood up. He took a few steps towards the door, but stopped himself, “Hey Logan?”

“Hm?”

“How did you realise? Y’know… that you were… gay?” Virgil’s voice was quiet, and he almost refused to look towards his brother.

“It simply all made sense when I put the pieces together.”

“And, no one… really cared or anything?”

“Not that I could notice.”

Another long stretch of silence filled the room until Virgil breathed out a laugh. He turned to look at his older brother, still watching him with the amused smile and something akin to pride in his eyes, “Thanks Logan.”

“Any time, Virgil.”

In no time at all, Virgil was back in his room, laying back against his own bedsheets. He thought over everything Logan had said, everything he was thinking about before, everything that had happened in the past few years. Sure enough, he began to realise small details seemed to add up to his brother’s conclusion.

“Holy shit, I might be gay.” Virgil whispered to himself, staring up at the white ceiling. As the words slipped past his lips, he realise they felt sort of right. It wasn’t exact, and he wasn’t entirely sure as of right now, but it was definitely something that seemed right to him. He was still thinking about it as his parents called him down for dinner.

He passed by the window on his way to the hallway, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the rainbow flag that hung on Patton’s wall that had started all of this. His eyes drifted between the flag and the flowerpot to his own window. Suddenly, an idea came to him.

“Virgil! It’s been five minutes! You know the rules, two more minutes before I start eating into yours!” His father’s voice floated up to him, continuing a joke that had persisted for years.

“Almost done with this thing!” Virgil called back, finishing up the last line before capping the pen. He looked at the drawing on his window one last time before heading out of his room. As he began to descend the stairs, he heard the exaggerated sounds of his dad trying to convince him he was eating his food, “That’s sounds so fake, you wouldn’t eat it and let me starve!”

Back in his room, the sunlight peaked through the clouds that had been ever present all day and the evening light streaked through Virgil’s window, casting a shadow onto his guitar case that stood at the end of his desk, the rainbow flag and question mark he’d added to it casting a coloured shadow over the hand-decorated cover. 


	11. Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of car crash and funerals in this chapter. Just to let you all know! <3

Virgil left the rainbow drawing on his window for the rest of the week. Nothing came from Patton for days, not even a text or anything. Virgil was beginning to get a little worried, this wasn’t normal, something must have happened. The days trickled by even slower than usual as Virgil watched his phone and window like a mad man, just hoping for some sign of life.

When he woke up one day and opened his curtains to see a message on the window opposite, Virgil couldn’t help but smile. It was a single word in all black, lingering perfectly in front of the rainbow hung up on the wall, it read ‘Gay?’

Virgil reached for the marker but paused as he went to erase the question mark. He’d had a lot of time to think about it and the more he’d thought, the more sure he became. Virgil replaced the punctuation with ‘Yeah. You?’

With a satisfied smile and sigh, Virgil moved to get dressed and headed down to grab something to eat.

“Good morning, sunshine. You’re up early. You know the sun is still up.” His father quipped upon seeing Virgil entering the kitchen. He sat at the small kitchen table, taking up one of the chairs.

Virgil stuck his tongue out and rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he opened the fridge.

A look of exaggerated surprise crossed the older Mortenson’s face, “No grunt or grimace? Must be in a good mood today. What’s got you all happy, son?” Virgil’s dad smiled at his son’s expression as the fridge slowly shut behind him.

“It’s nothing.” Virgil said with a shrug, moving to grasp a glass out of one of the cupboards. He poured himself a glass of the fizzy drink he’d pulled from the fridge, downing a good third of the liquid in one hit, “Just, feeling good, I guess.”

“C’mon, you can tell your old man. I’m good with secrets.” His father stage whispered, winking at his youngest.

Virgil leant against the cupboards and swirled the glass around on the side for a moment, considering what he could say. There was a part of him that wanted to simply say nothing and head back up to his room, but the rest was telling him that he could use this as a test, find out how people would react to him. For once, the screaming voice of worry was being drowned out by something positive, so Virgil grasped a hold of this moment.

“Well, I mean, I kinda guess, it’s because, I… uhm…” Virgil stalled, trying to find the right words to say, eyes trained on the vortex of bubbles, “I may have, figured something out, finally…”

His dad stayed sitting, giving Virgil his full attention now, “What did you figure out, Virgil?” He prompted, trying to get his son to open up to him.

A long silence spread between them as Virgil built up the courage to do what he was about to do. The young boy took a moment to throw a couple of pieces of bread into the toaster. Suddenly, he took a quick breath and spoke rapidly, “Ithinki’mgay.” His eyes were trained back on the glass, which was moving quicker now. The fluid almost splashing over the rim of the glass.

Another silence, before Virgil heard the sound of the chair moving and his glass was stopped by the larger hand of his father. Without much warning, he was engulfed in a loose hug. Virgil could have easily escaped if he wanted, but he didn’t. Instead, he hugged his father tight. His throat was tightening, and his eyes were beginning to well up, but Virgil tried to hold back as much as he could.

“I know that must have been difficult for you, Virgil, but I am so proud of you.” His father’s voice was low and quiet, comforting and soft, “I hope you realise nothing will stop your mother and I from loving you, son.”

His father was never this serious or real with Virgil, he was always being silly and joking around. This was so new, yet it was exactly what Virgil needed to hear in this moment. The tears began spilling down his cheeks as the wave of relief spread throughout his entire body. The two stayed in the embrace for a while, before Virgil began pulling away. He wiped his eyes, ignoring the fact that his eyeshadow had been absolutely ruined.

The toast popping up made both of them jump, bringing the pair back into reality. Virgil wiped his hands on his jeans before quickly grabbing both pieces. As he threw them onto the plate he’d already gotten out, Virgil found that his brother’s most precious jam was placed next to it. He turned his attention to his dad, who still stood next to him.

“I won’t tell him if you won’t. Go on, you deserve it.” His father winked again and went to sit back down at the kitchen table.

Virgil smiled before quickly covering his toast in the sweet spread. He placed it back amongst the rest next to the toaster, trying to get it in just the right place so Logan wouldn’t notice too easily. He normally would have gone to take the plate up to his room, but he found himself moving his drink and plate to the table, sitting opposite his father.

As Virgil pulled out the chair, his dad looked at him suspiciously, “Who are you and what have you done with my son?”

Virgil rolled his eyes, taking a quick bite, “I’m an alien, clearly.” He deadpanned but couldn’t help the small smile that broke through as his father clapped his hands.

“I knew it!”

The two returned to a comfortable silence, with Virgil making his way through his late breakfast and scrolling through his phone while his father worked his way through the book in front of him. Slowly, Virgil looked up at his dad, thinking through what he said earlier.

“Oh, also-” Virgil caught his father’s attention, “I guess I should also tell you that I’m planning on starting a crime empire in a few years.”

He watched with a small smirk as his father’s face cycled through several emotions, “I’m sorry, what?”

“You said there would be nothing that stopped you and mom loving me, right?”

His father suddenly laughed, catching up with his son’s joke, “In that case, I want a share of the money.”

“No way! Not unless you do some of the work!”

“I’m getting old, son. I can’t do anything anymore...” His father exaggeratedly groaned, “We just need enough for the retirement is all.”

Virgil scoffed, “I’ll pay for the home, sure.”

The two continued to banter back and forth, only stopping to both laugh in unison as Logan entered the kitchen and immediately noticed that his jam was a little out of place. They only laughed harder as the eldest of the Mortenson children began lecturing them on the importance and wonder of Crofters and why it should not be touched by anyone but him. It was a homely family experience that made Virgil realise he would never wish to be with anyone else.

Across the street, Patton wasn’t having quite so good a time.

He and his family had just come back from attending his uncle’s funeral and he was still exhausted both physically and emotionally. He’d not been able to sleep during the entire trip, being in an unfamiliar bed and rooming with his brother causing him added distress. He wanted to message Virgil the whole time, just wanting to let him know where he was, but it would be difficult as Roman might see the message and figure out who he was talking to.

It was also difficult for him as it was his favourite uncle. It was the uncle who’d listened to him when he was upset as a kid, the one person who really always helped him feel better. It was this uncle who’d convinced the family to get Reilly when Patton was really young, it was this uncle who had always played with him at family parties for Christmas or birthdays or any other reason they had to get together.

But he was gone now. All because of a car crash. Because the other driver wasn’t thinking right. Because the other driver was ‘under the influence’, as the adults had said.

Patton sat on his bed, cuddling his Winnie the Pooh plush, trying not to cry again. He thought he was out of tears, but apparently, he was wrong. His laptop was sat on his desk, playing some music at a low volume. Virgil had told him about how having something to listen to helped him in moments of extreme distress and Patton had always remembered, especially as he absolutely hated pure silence.

Right now, the air in his room felt stale and oppressive. Patton stood slowly and opened his window a little, breathing in the fresh air deeply. His eyes were glazed over, but he did end up glancing over at Virgil’s window. He’d not looked out since that morning when they’d gotten back.

Patton felt a little bubble of warmth swell inside of him as he saw the added words. He quickly moved to rub off the word on his window and to replace it with his own confession, but a knock at his door stopped him. He quickly jumped away, dropping the marker onto the floor, “W-wait a second!”

He shuffled about, unsure of what to do. He eventually sat himself back down on his bed, throwing the extra blanket over himself. Taking a deep breath, he called for whoever was outside to come in.

Patton’s mother slipped in through the door. She looked at him with that sad expression she’d been wearing all weekend, but she was clearly trying to smile and be strong. She closed the door behind her, before perching herself on the edge of the bed. Her arms opened, and Patton threw himself against her, hugging tight. His mother’s hand gently running through his hair relaxed him a lot.

“You were so brave, pumpkin.” She whispered, placing a soft kiss to the top of his head, “Thank you for being so good this week. I know it must have been hard on you, especially after that first day…”

He really didn’t need to be reminded of that now.

While his parents had been extremely accepting of Patton’s sexuality and as much as Roman was excited to have his brother also being gay, it was immediately brought down by the fact that Patton was banned from talking about it with the rest of his family that he was going to be meeting up with. His father had been extremely strict on that, but Patton just couldn’t understand why.

That was until he tried to tell his grandfather.

“No grandson of mine will ever be _like that._ ” He’d practically spat, venom pouring through his words. Patton managed to laugh it off, pretending that what he’d just said was a joke. His grandfather had laughed along and ruffled his hair, but Patton immediately felt dirty.

That night he washed his hair twice in the shower.

That night tears poured down his cheeks as he tried to sleep.

That night he slipped into Roman’s bed while he was asleep, just needing to be near someone.

That night his father had apologised for his grandfather, his father had said “That’s just how his generation are.”

But Patton knew that was wrong. It wasn’t _that generation_. It was his grandfather, and who knows who else in his family.

Tears pricked at his eyes once again and he burrowed further into his mother who only tightened her grip. She only pulled away from Patton when she was called down by Patton’s father, who didn’t sound all too happy himself. She looked at him again with that sad smile, “You’re stronger than you know, Patton.”

Her eyes trailed around his room, eventually landing on the window. Her smile dropped, and Patton panicked, realising what she’d seen.

“Mom! I-It’s not what it looks like!” The tears began streaming down his cheeks from pure fear. He watched, unable to move as his mother slowly stepped through his room and looked across the street to the window opposite.

Patton knew his mother wasn’t stupid, she obviously could put everything together. She stared out the window for far too long, before turning to Patton with the most genuine smile he’d seen on her face in a while. She began welling up with tears herself before moving over to hug her son once again, whispering to him, “I’m so proud of you.”

With that, she left him alone in his room.

It took a few minutes for Patton to fully comprehend what had just happened. His mother wasn’t upset with him for talking with Virgil, his mother was… proud of him? She didn’t mind him talking to him, she was happy with him talking with the boy across the road in the family that Roman hated so much.

Patton felt lighter as he bounced up to his feet, finally getting to change the message on the glass. After replacing the lid on the marker, he placed it back on the windowsill and closed the window. He needed to get out of his room, so he bundled up the blanket and his plush before dragging them down to the living room where he knew Roman was watching some Disney movies.

He settled himself on the other side of the couch before really looking at his older brother, who was engrossed more in his phone than the movie. Frozen had just started and so Patton just let himself become lost in the movie’s world. Only once Kristoff was running Anna back to the castle after almost collapsing did Roman look up. A sudden sniffle from Patton caused Roman to jump, yelping in surprise. This caused Patton to jump in fear as well.

“Patton, you scared me! When did you get there?!” Roman clutched his chest, clearly trying to steady his heartbeat.

Patton could feel his stomach sinking already, “Since Frozen started…?”

Roman immediately seemed to feel bad as he looked away from his younger brother. An awkward silence fell between them before Roman seemed to regain his composure, “I’m sorry, Patton. I was just lost in this conversation. How are you holding up?”

Patton looked down to the Winnie the Pooh plush in his hands, “Eh, I’ve been better…”

Silence again, only broken by the movie playing in the background.

“I really miss him, Ro… It’s… it’s so weird he’s… he’s gone…” Patton began, sniffling a little more. Tears began to finally run down his cheeks, they dripped onto the plush in his hands, wetting it easily. His brother’s arms curled around him, cuddling him close, “It’s just, he did everything with me, all the time… He was the best and now… I can’t see him… ever again…”

Patton was hiccupping frequently, he was still trying to supress the sobs as they began to rack his body. Roman went to speak but was interrupted by his phone ringing. He initially meant to just glance at it to see who it was, but when he saw it was Declan calling him…

Roman dove for the phone, answering the call as quickly as he could, “Did you get it?! You got the stuff?!” He quickly ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Patton was still openly crying on the sofa. He flinched as he heard Roman slam his bedroom door. The younger tried to stop his crying, tried to not feel absolutely awful at being left alone by his brother. Then a voice came clear from the TV in front of him.

_“Oh Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you…”_

The young boy sat in a shocked silence. As soon as the line had finished, Patton had leant against the remote and paused the scene.  Even though he’d seen this movie so many times, that line suddenly hit him extremely hard. As he stared at the image, even as it became blurry with more tears, Patton could almost see himself and Roman in the freezeframe, and then the line echoed around in his head but in Roman’s voice. It echoed louder and louder, overtaking everything else.

Patton curled up into himself, sobbing alone. Both his parents had left to go somewhere and Roman had left him to go talk to his friends. He was truly alone.

Wait. No. He had someone else.

He scrambled up the stairs, tripping up them at least twice before running into his room. He grabbed a hold of his phone and immediately searched for Virgil’s number. Before he could even start to think about the repercussions, Patton had hit call and was holding the phone up to his ear.

It took only a few seconds for Patton to hear Virgil pick up.

“Hey. What’s up?”

Patton stared out of his window, watching as Virgil appeared in the window opposite.

Virgil immediately looked alarmed, “Patton. What’s wrong?”

Patton had to hold himself together for a few moments longer. He managed to choke out, “Can I come over?”

A pause. Virgil was thinking, he could see it. Patton prayed silently. He needed Virgil right now. He needed his best friend.

“Of course.”

Patton let out another quick sob, “Thank you.” He hung up, quickly packed away a few things in a bag and ran down the stairs. He slammed the front door shut and sprinted across the road and into Virgil’s arms, who was standing in the opened front door of his own home. He was quickly ushered inside, the paused movie utterly forgotten back in the now quiet Ashworth house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Abigal and Ayana are my children, Virgil's dad is officially my favourite character.


	12. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for being awful with chapter titles... I just can't deal with them being off by one number because of the prologue lmao

Virgil ushered Patton to the couch as quick as he could. He pulled the bag from Patton’s hand and let it drop to the side of him before fully embracing the crying boy. While he comforted his friend, Virgil looked up to see all of the members of his family who were home entering the living room, looking bewildered.

It had been a bit of a whirlwind. As soon as Virgil had realised Patton hung up on him, he barrelled out of his room and down the stairs, letting his bedroom door slam against the wall in his haste. He couldn’t stop his momentum and went crashing into the wall, only cushioned by his hands slamming against it before anything else. He managed to recover quick enough, sprinting to the front door and throwing it wide open. Nothing had been particularly quiet, so of course it had caught the attention of his brother and his father.

No one spoke for a moment, each of them clearly catching up with the situation. Virgil watched as Logan’s face darkened significantly. He turned sharply, heading towards the kitchen. A few moments later there was the sound of a lid popping open and the cutlery drawer opening. Virgil shared a look with his father, who was still utterly confused.

Nevertheless, his dad put on a smile, “Virgil, why don’t you take your friend up to your room?”

“Yeah… yeah, that sounds good.” Virgil nodded quickly. He looked down to the boy in his arms, who was clearly holding back a lot more tears. Patton sniffled and hiccupped as Virgil coaxed him up onto his feet and towards the stairs. They’d only taken a couple steps up there when Virgil’s dad called out to him.

“Oh, Virgil, if you don’t mind, can you come down and help me with something for a moment?”

Virgil responded, clearly frustrated, “Can’t Logan do it?! I’m kinda busy!”

“No, son, I need your help.”

His father’s tone was final. Virgil sighed and turned to Patton, who looked a little scared, “It’s okay, I’ll be as quick as I can. You’ll probably tell which door is mine, but it’s the furthest one down the hall, to the left, okay?” He waited for Patton to nod and start walking further up the stairs before jumping the last few back down to the ground floor.

Patton took the stairs slow, finding himself a little unsteady. He was also extremely curious as to what Virgil’s dad could possibly want at this time and wanted to hear some of it. He’d only climbed a couple more steps when he heard Virgil’s voice.

“What did you want?”

There was the sound of a fridge opening, “I thought you and your friend might want some snacks, son. Help me with these.”

“Is that really it? Cookies? Seriously? Logan couldn’t help you with that.”

“I also wanted to ask you about your friend-”

“Of course you did. Let’s just get these done.”

Patton heard a sigh and the sound of some packaging being ripped open. He’d reached the top of the stairs now, but he still lingered, wanting to find out what would be said about him. There was a long silence, only broken by the tapping of something against glass and the oven door opening.

“Virgil, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but just answer one question for me?” Patton stood still, scared of what was coming next.

“What?”

“If your friend was in danger, you’d let us know, wouldn’t you?”

Another pause. Patton let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Virgil’s dad was… worried about him. For some reason, that filled him with relief. The tears he was still holding onto were getting so close to spilling, but he blinked them back. He couldn’t cry again yet.

“Dad, don’t worry. I checked the perimeter for snipers, we’re fine.” Virgil’s voice smashed the silence. He was clearly joking. It sounded like he was smiling. Patton almost laughed along with Virgil’s dad.

“Ah, I should have known. Always prepared, aren’t you? Good practice for that crime empire, y’know?”

Virgil laughed gently, his voice getting closer to the stairs. Patton started moving along the hallway, not wanting to get caught spying like this, but he still listened hard.

“But yeah, I promise, he’s okay… Well, he’s safe, at least.”

“Well, that’s good. Logan, honestly. Stop eating all that, you’ll finish that jar if you’re not careful.”

There was a loud slam of something against the kitchen counter, which made Patton jump and wobble as he almost lost his balance at the scare. He used the wall to steady himself, resting a hand against it as he made his way further down the corridor. Downstairs, he heard Logan’s voice.

“You don’t realise who that boy is, do you?”

Patton, suddenly feeling a little sick, reached a door covered in old Halloween decorations, band merchandise and other decorations that perfectly encapsulated Virgil’s style. His lips twitched into a gentle smile as he looked over it all. He pushed it open and quickly slipped inside, letting the door slowly shut behind him, muffling the already quiet voices from downstairs. He really didn’t want to hear what Logan was about to say. The young boy wandered around the room, finally getting the chance to see the room he’d seen a snapshot of for months.

His hand slid across the desk; over the well-worn and used notebook that he’d gotten for Virgil years ago, over the closed lid of Virgil’s laptop. He traced the multiple stickers that were on the top, several of them being logos he recognised from various shirts Virgil had worn and many more being unrecognisable to him. His eyes skimmed across the shelves that were next to it, between the desk and the window, reading some of the titles that had become familiar to him as Virgil read them in their more quiet morning sessions.

He was drawn to looking out the window. Patton lingered at the windowsill, staring across to his own room as his hands played with the black curtains. It was surreal seeing it this way. He couldn’t bear to look for long, the view of the flag that Roman had gifted him after he’d come out to them all currently too much for him.

As he turned, Patton bumped into the dark metal of Virgil’s bed frame. He decided it was probably best for him to sit down, especially as he was feeling a little dizzy from all the crying. He moved around, looking over the bundled mess of dark sheets and blankets that were pilled up on Virgil’s bed from when he’d gotten out of bed that morning. A part of him really wanted to tidy it up, but he felt that might be overstepping so he instead just perched himself on the edge of the mattress.

He sat there, waiting for Virgil. His eyes travelled around the rest of the room that he’d not walked around, running over the collage of posters that littered every bit of wall space that wasn’t covered by a piece of furniture. They showed various bands or pieces of art, all very dark or gothic. Patton didn’t understand Virgil’s fascination with these things, but he definitely supported Virgil - to the point of gifting him several little things that fit with his room’s aesthetic. As he thought about what he’d given Virgil, Patton was able to see that each of those things had a place in the room that made them easily visible; the guitar case he’d decorated was still being used and the small soft toys circled the many pillows that sat at the head of Virgil’s bed, all the art supplies and small decorative pieces either sat at the back of the desk or on the messy bedside table.

As he looked over the open, messy wardrobe that sat opposite the bed, something jumped out at Patton. It was a small white book, which made it stand out amongst the void of dark clothing that was piled up. Something drew him to it and so Patton crossed the room to pick it up. Once he had it in his hands, he could see it was a small scrapbook that looked pretty old. The edges of the pages and front cover were well worn showing Patton that this was clearly used a lot. He brought it back to the bed with him, resting it on his lap once he’d sat back down. He was about to open the book when the bedroom door swung open revealing Virgil holding the bag Patton had brought with him and a plate of cookies. Patton quickly shoved the book under the pillows next to him, hiding it from view for the most part.

“I am sorry. My dad thought you might need some sugar and he had these cookies that needed to be warmed up or cooked or whatever and so he put them in and then he wanted to talk about stuff, ugh.” Virgil rambled, putting the plate of cookies down on the mattress before he looked around at his mess of a room, “Ah, I should tidy up, I’m so sorry, Pat. Give me a minute.”

Virgil moved to pick up some of the clothing off the floor but Patton reached out and rested his hand on Virgil’s shoulder, causing the boy to look up.

“It’s okay, Virge, I don’t mind.” Patton cringed at the fact his throat was scratchy, and his voice was so quiet. He didn’t want to sound so broken right now, he hated it.

Virgil stood back up, “Well, okay, if you say so.” He took a seat next to Patton on the bed, moving further back so he could lean up against the wall, bringing the plate with him. Patton cautiously followed him back, resting his head against Virgil’s shoulder when his best friend looped his arms around him.

The two sat quietly for a while, Patton’s sniffles and coughs breaking it every now and then. As much as they both hated silence, this was the most comfortable they’d ever been in it. Patton easily started crying again, burying his face against his best friend. He felt he could be vulnerable here with Virgil, he felt safe and looked after. He began to sob openly, getting everything out of him. Virgil didn’t ask him any questions, instead just let him cry against him. The boy tightened his grip around Patton every now and then, whispering some comforting words every time.

Eventually, Patton felt the sobs stop. The tears stopped pouring from him, instead just trickling along the tracks that had already been left by the ones before. He relaxed a little more, releasing his grip on Virgil a little.

Something tapped Patton’s leg and he looked down to see a box of tissues. His eyes raised to look at his friend, a little shocked.

“My mom buys tons of these boxes. Every room in the house has a stock pile, mine’s over here.” He pointed to the floor at the end of his bed.

Patton let out a soft watery laugh before pulling out a couple tissues. He sat up away from Virgil in order to dry his eyes and cheeks and to blow his nose a couple of times. After failing miserably at throwing the used tissues into the bin just across the room, Patton turned back to his friend. He immediately noticed the darker patch on Virgil’s shirt.

“Oh, Virgil, I’m sorry, I didn’t-” Patton began, covering his mouth with his hands.

Virgil shook his head and smiled with a soft laugh, “It’s okay, Pat, really. I expected it. Cookie?” The boy lifted the plate towards Patton.

Patton giggled and took one of the cookies, Virgil taking one just after. The two returned to the silence as they ate the snacks, with Patton looking over the wall that Virgil’s bed was pushed up against. More posters were plastered up on the wall behind it, but the wall they were resting against was covered with pieces of paper that were handwritten. Most of them were Virgil’s handwriting, but some of them were styles that Patton didn’t recognise. Before he really had a good chance to read what they said, Virgil caught his attention.

“So, why were you so upset?”

Patton sighed a little, face falling again. He felt so exhausted, but he did owe Virgil an explanation. He had just stormed into his house and taken up his time and space. Patton leant back against the wall, head tilting up a little as he began to explain.

He spoke about the funeral, about his grandfather, about his mother, about Roman. As he spoke, his voice started to crack, and more tears pricked at his eyes. Virgil wrapped an arm around him again, listening intently. When he got to what happened with Roman, Patton could feel Virgil tense. There was a beat of silence after Patton was finished before Virgil spoke.

“Fucking asshole.”

Patton lifted his head - that he didn’t remember lowering onto Virgil’s shoulder - to stare at his friend with wide eyes, “Virgil! Language!”

“No, he deserves it! Just running off on you like that? He’s a fucking asshole! Like what could be more important than supporting you?!”

Patton went to respond, but a knock at the door stopped him. Both of the boys looked towards the door.

“Come in?” Virgil called out.

Logan stepped into the room, holding two glasses of water. His face was stoic and emotionless, “I thought you might want a drink after losing so much liquid from crying.”

Virgil was a little put off by his brother’s expression, but Patton didn’t seem to notice. He smiled sincerely, “Thank you, Logan. That’s so thoughtful of you.”

The older’s cheeks flushed a little. “Thank you. I’ll just…” He looked around the room awkwardly, “put them over here on the desk. Virgil, mom came home, and dinner will be soon. Patton, you have also been invited to stay for it, if you so wish.”

Both of the boys thanked Logan, who backed out of the room, leaving them alone. He walked down the stairs, back to his parents. Their dad was still recounting everything to their mom, who was taking it well. Well, as well as a protective mother figure could take such a story.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Logan cut into the conversation. Both of his parents turned to him with smiles.

“It’s no problem. What is it?”

“I let Patton know that he is welcome to stay for dinner. I hope that is alright with you?”

His mother’s hand flew up to cover her mouth, an expression of shocked sadness coming across her face. She stood quickly and pulled her eldest into a hug, “Of course it’s alright.”

“Why didn’t we think of that?” His father shook his head in disbelief. Both his parents began to banter back and forth about who would have the forethought to come up with something like that and how long it would have taken either of them to do so.

Logan excused himself and returned upstairs to his own room. He stood with his hand on the handle of his door, listening to the voices of his brother and Patton from the room opposite. They sounded like they were having fun, they both sounded much happier which gave Logan a sense of peace as he stepped into the threshold of his room.

He walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair. His gaze fixed upon the dark computer screen in front of him before the rage hit him like a truck. His fist slammed onto the desk, missing the keyboard by a hair. His jaw was so stiff, and his teeth were gritted so hard that it almost hurt. He ignored it all, because he was so angry.

Logan never thought that Roman’s vendetta would ever go this far. He thought it would affect just him and Roman. But then Roman pulled in that little ‘friend group’ of his. Even then, Logan didn’t think it would go much further. He’d heard so many times about how Roman was such a perfect brother, how much Roman’s little brother looked up to him and all these fantastical tales about Roman’s relationship with his brother.

Logan had never began to imagine that Roman would let this stupid vendetta hurt Roman’s ever so precious little brother. But he had. And that made Logan angry, no, it made him furious. This boy wasn’t doing anything wrong, Roman’s lifelong issue with Logan should never have taken priority over his relationship with his brother, but it had because Roman was so fixated on this stupid, stupid, _stupid_ idea that he needed to get back at Logan.

He didn’t know what he was going to do. Logan really did not want to stoop to Roman’s level. He’d been avoiding it for this long and he was going to avoid it for the rest of his life. Several ideas passed through his head, but then something clicked.

Logan didn’t need to prove anything to Roman. This shouldn’t turn into anything about Roman. This was about Patton Ashworth; the kid who wasn’t allowed to be with his best friend, the kid who he’d been suspicious and wary of, the kid who had been able to coax his own anxious brother out of his shell, the kid who just lost a brother.

That was it. Logan was going to be the brother Patton deserved. He was going to look after Patton, even if it was only from afar. That was what he was going to do. He wasn’t going to out do Roman, he wasn’t going to make a show of how much better of a brother he was than Roman. He was just going to do it because it was the right thing.

Logan’s rage began to diminish, lowering to only a simmer in the back of his mind. He switched on his computer and began to make plans.


	13. Moving Forward

From that day forward, the Mortensons’ door was always open to Patton. He found himself sneaking over to the house multiple times throughout the rest of the summer and Virgil was more than happy to have his friend hanging out.

Even as their summer came to a close and school started back up, Patton found himself spending at least one evening a week at the Mortensons.

He was extremely careful, making sure that Roman never found out where he was going. His dad caught him once and Patton could swear his heartbeat tripled in that moment, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that - like his mom - his dad supported his choice.

At school, Virgil and Patton were both becoming a little bit more reckless. They would wave to each other in the halls, sometimes stop by the other’s locker for a quick chat, rarely they would walk out of the class they shared together. They took every opportunity they had to spend just a few more seconds with each other.

One lunch time, Virgil sat down in his usual spot with his friends after just having had a quick chat with Patton. He smiled genuinely at them all in turn as he began to eat.

“Okay, what the hell happened to you?”

“Ana!”

“What?!”

The couple sat opposite him started a staring match, seemingly having a silent conversation. Virgil simply watched, utterly confused as to what Ana was even talking about. Eventually, Em sighed and waved for her partner to continue.

“Thank you. As I was saying,” Ana cleared their throat before repeating, “what the hell happened to you?”

Virgil was still totally confused, “What do you mean ‘what happened to me?’”

“I mean, you’re so much happier and you just like… smiled as us all. What the heck is that about?” Ana picked up their plastic fork and pointed it in Virgil’s direction, as if it were a dangerous weapon, “Who are you and what have you done with Virgil?!”

The surrounding kids laughed at Ana’s extreme reaction. Virgil made them wait as he took a long drink before beginning to speak again, “I still have no idea. I just feel good. Is that okay with you?”

Ana squinted at him, as if considering his claim. They lowered the plastic fork back into the pasta they were previously eating, “I guess… but I still think something’s up.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow, taking another bite of his food, “Something, huh? Like what?”

“I dunno! Maybe, you’ve got a crush and you’ve just seen them or something!” Ana speculated.

Before Virgil could even respond, Em squealed softly, “Aww! Virgil with a crush would be so sweet!”

The young boy could feel himself blushing, heat pooling in his cheeks. He was glad for the light foundation he used to cover his face every day, it was finally coming in useful for more than just his aesthetic, “C’mon guys, who would I have a crush on? I don’t even like people, I barely like you guys.” He joked, good naturedly nudging Ayana who sat next to him. She smiled up at him in silent thanks for his action.

“I was just throwing out an idea, alright? God, you’re such a jerk sometimes.” Ana rolled their eyes with a smile, getting back to digging into their pasta.

Across the school, Patton sat in the cafeteria with his own friends. They were all currently listening to Abigal and Sophia jointly ranting about something they’d both watched the night before. Sophia was halfway through a long rambling point when a loud voice caught everyone’s attention.

“Of course! My little brother and I will be all dressed up when I take him to his first ever Pride. It is a wonderful thing, having a brother who understands who you are.” It was Roman, speaking far too loudly for no reason other than to gather more attention.

Patton felt his mood drop instantly. He didn’t care that Roman was loudly announcing that he was gay, he’d been extremely open to everyone who’d asked him about the pride pins he now had on his bag. It didn’t even worry him who at school knew about him being gay. The thing that made him the most upset was Roman continuing to brag about him, as if they were as close as they always were.

Since that day when Roman had left Patton crying alone on the couch, he’d acted as though nothing significant had happened. He was still trying to be friendly with Patton and Patton did still respond, but it was all so different now. Patton felt like he had to put up a front whenever he was with Roman, had to also pretend that nothing had changed between them. This loud bragging was just the latest in a long string of things that Patton was finally noticing that were just not okay.

Even louder laughter brought Patton out of his thoughts, “Well, of course I’m going to educate him in any way I can. That’s just what great older brothers do.”

Patton stomach churned, and his appetite disappeared. He stood quickly and practically ran out of the cafeteria door, bag trailing behind him in his haste. He could hear someone go to call out for him, but his name was cut off before the voice could finish. Patton didn’t stop walking, he just let his feet take him on a tour of the school.

He ended up at the double doors of the library. Patton figured it would be a good place to cool off, think about some things, maybe even find a book he could use to escape all of this. He pushed open the door and entered the space.

Immediately, he felt so much calmer. The room just had an atmosphere that soothed and warmed him from the inside. As Patton slowly weaved his way through all the tall, multi-shelved stacks of books, all he could hear were the clicking of keyboards where people were working on projects on the far side of the library and the soft turning of pages or slide of plastic covers as books were taken from shelves and used by the occupants of the room. Patton only stopped when he came across the books he was most familiar with, the bright colours of the spines and text popping out at him as he traced each of the titles. He must have looked a little lost as a familiar voice spoke softly next to him.

“Hello Patton, is there anything you need help with?”

Patton looked up to stare at Logan, hands raising defensively, “Oh no, thank you Logan, I’m fine. Just looking around at what’s here.” Patton returned to looking at the shelves of books in front of him, but he kept an eye on Logan’s unmoving form using the corner of his eyes. If the older boy wasn’t going to leave, Patton desperately needed to change the subject.

“So… you work here?” Patton said lamely, unable to think of anything else.

“Yes, I’ve been an assistant here for two years now.” This was the first time Patton had seen a genuine smile on Logan’s face. He watched as the older boy absent-mindedly began to tidy up the shelves they were standing by, “You may already be aware, but when you reach Year 12, all students are required to do some volunteering. I decided to join the library as I had spent a significant amount of time in here throughout the years. I found I enjoyed it immensely and so just never stopped. It is quite rewarding, being able to help someone out in finding something that could bring them joy.”

Patton was almost in awe. He’d known Logan was smart, but he’d never heard or seen Logan being such a positive person. He cursed himself internally for still having some of Roman’s influence in him. He made a silent vow to rid himself of all of the opinions and thoughts that Roman had put in his head and this clearly showed on his face.

“Are you quite sure you’re alright? I’ve never seen you alone in here before, especially not at lunch. Aren’t you usually with your friends?”

Patton offered a smile that was just a tad too wide, “Nope. Everything’s totally fine. No problems here. Just wanted to have some quiet time.” He laughed nervously, entirely aware he’d said too much.

This was made even clearer as Logan studied him and his expression softened considerably, “What happened, Patton?”

At this clear indication that Logan was aware he was not quite as good as he said he was, Patton deflated and gave in, “Roman was bragging about me at lunch again and it just… made me feel weird…” His gaze was once again trained on the books in front of him, “I don’t like it when he does that. It sometimes doesn’t even feel like he’s talking about me, y’know? Now that I really think, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard him say my name before…”

Logan sighed beside him, “I truly am sorry, Patton. I doubt this will even help your situation, but I know that Roman only brags so much because he is aware that I also have a brother. He needed to beat me in every single way he could. It’s extremely unfortunate that the only way I was able to learn your name was from Virgil, back when I…” Logan trailed off, not wanting to remember what he’d done to jeopardise his brother’s friendship with this sweet kid.

“When you what?” Patton looked up at the older Mortenson, looking neither upset nor scared. He seemed to be content, as if he already knew what Logan was about to say.

“When I asked Virgil to avoid spending time with you, in order to keep him out of Roman’s stupidity.” Logan was shocked when Patton smiled at him after his confession.

“I guess we both did silly things to keep Virgil out of trouble, huh?”

“I suppose we did, yes. Well, I hope you find something that’s to your liking here and I hope to see you soon, Patton.” Logan went to turn and walk away, but Patton had other ideas.

The young boy quickly threw his arms around Logan, giving him a hug, “Thank you, Logan.” His voice had lowered to just over a whisper. He sounded so defenceless, yet there was a touch of something else there that Logan couldn’t quite understand.

Logan stood still, tense and unmoving. He wasn’t used to such sudden forms of affection with Virgil or anyone in his life, but he had to admit it wasn’t bad. Slowly, he returned the hug. It only lasted a few more seconds, but the two parted simultaneously and Logan left Patton alone by the shelves. He made his way back towards the front desk, where the elderly librarian sat, typing away at the computer.

“I’m going to quickly head outside, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

He removed the volunteer lanyard from around his neck and headed out into the courtyard. Due to the school’s size and population, there were multiple places for the students to purchase food. The food trucks that had been set up were clearly meant to have been temporary, but they had never changed in the seven years Logan had been attending the school. He approached the counter, which was currently devoid of students due to the fact the lunch break was mostly over. The two cafeteria workers recognised him and greeted him warmly, asking him what it was today that he wanted. Logan bought several items, thanked the people inside and made his way back to the library.

Upon entering the library, he placed a bottle of water and one of the snacks on the librarian’s desk, “For you. I noticed you hadn’t gone out for lunch yet and thought you might want something.”

The elderly woman patted his hand lightly, “You’re such a thoughtful young man. Thank you so much.”

“It is no problem. I’ll return to work in a second, I just need to give these to someone.” He indicated to the other things he’d bought.

Logan strolled through the library, searching through the bookshelves for the now familiar form of Patton, only to find the boy sat at one of the tables in the back corner of the large room. As quietly as he could, Logan approached the table and put the drink and food next to the boy, who looked up sharply at the rustling of plastic.

Patton’s eyes darted between the food and Logan, seemingly confused, “What?”

“For you. I assumed you must have missed out on some of your usual lunch and thought you might still be hungry.” Logan avoided constant eye contact with Patton. His intention had been to simply put them down and walk away, so he was slightly embarrassed at being caught.

The bright smile on Patton’s face made it all worth it though. The younger thanked Logan multiple times before putting the snacks and drink into his bag, “I’ll keep them for after school! I have the gardening club today and they won’t mind!” He said excitedly, his eyes shining. Patton managed to get out a couple more thanks before Logan was able to get back to the front desk.

He was slipping the lanyard over his head once more when the librarian spoke, “You’re doing the right thing, Logan.” When the student looked towards the elderly woman, she laughed softly before expanding her point, “Looking after that boy. I know who he is and some of what you’re both dealing with, all of the faculty are aware of what happens around the school. We know about _him._ ”

Logan coughed awkwardly, his cheeks flushed pink, “I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about. I was merely concerned about his health, eating three full meals a day is important. Excuse me, I have to go tidy up that table over there.” Logan headed straight for a table that had just been abandoned by several students and began to collect up the books.

The librarian watched from afar as the bell sounded for the end of lunch and Patton exited from the corner in which he sat. She watched as the young boy waved to Logan, who acknowledged it with a small smile and a nod of his head. She noticed when Logan wandered over to that same area, returning with a single book that he was then checking out minutes later. She smiled as Logan left for his class, the book in his hand. He honestly was a good kid.

The last few lessons of school dragged on for what felt like forever for Patton. It was so good to hear that he was being allowed to leave the stuffy classrooms and head outside with his friends. He stopped by his locker to grab his belongings, intending to only take a short while. He didn’t expect to find Abigal and Asher waiting for him there.

“There he is!” Abigal yelled as she caught sight of him. She ran towards him and engulfed him in a tight hug, “Where did you go?! I was so worried! I tried to call out, but Asher stopped me because he’s a big meanie!”

Patton, being crushed in Abigal’s hold, was unable to speak or even really try to get the girl off of him. He was grateful for Asher’s presence as they managed to pry Abigal’s arms open, allowing Patton to breathe again, “Don’t kill the poor kid.”

Abigal pouted and moved back to lean against the locker beside Patton’s, “Sorry, but really, where did you go? We were all worried about you.”

“I just went to hang out somewhere else. I couldn’t stand it anymore.” Patton shrugged, slowly unlocking the locker.

Abigal nodded furiously, “Ugh, Roman is just so up himself. He really needs to come off his high horse already! You’re not just some prop for him to use in one of his shows!!” She blew her hair out of her face violently, causing it to land directly in the centre of her face. This got Patton to crack a smile and laugh, which in turn affected his two friends.

Asher rested a hand on Patton’s shoulder, “At least he’s only gonna be around for the rest of this year, then you’ll not have to hear him do that again. If you want, we could also stop eating in the caf, there are plenty of spots around the courtyard we could take up.”

Patton’s smile grew larger, “We can talk about it with everyone in a bit.” He finally swung the metal door open, causing a book to fall out and land at his feet. He dropped down to pick it up, turning it over to see the front cover.

“What’s that?” Abigal peered around the door that had been moved into her view, “A book?”

“I was reading this in the library at lunch today…” Patton said. He opened the book, a little concerned that it had found it’s way into his locker after he hadn’t checked it out of the library. Inside, he found a short note in very neat and slightly familiar handwriting.

_‘I noticed you were reading this today and felt that it could maybe provide you with some escape. It is due back in four weeks. You are welcome to leave it with me when you are through with it. Enjoy.’_

“Woah, what is this? A secret admirer? A stalker? Some kind of library book fairy?”

Asher shook their head, “I don’t think it’s any of those things, Abi.”

“But Asher, those would be so cool!”

“Stalking is not cool. We’ve talked about this.”

Abigal immediately was taken aback, her face darkening with a heavy blush quickly. She crossed her arms and hid her face behind Patton’s locker door, mumbling, “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Patton didn’t say anything as he slipped the book into his bag along with the rest of his belongings. He closed his locker and made his way to the place where they held their gardening club, listening to Asher lecture Abigal about various things that were unhealthy and obsessive. They passed by the front of the building where the Year 13s were slowly trickling out and Patton managed to catch the eye of Logan. The younger waved enthusiastically, mouthing the words ‘Thank You’ exaggeratedly. Logan offered a soft wave and smile in response, heading out of the school gates.


	14. Crushing

The days trickled by, slowly turning into weeks. Patton had finished that book Logan took out for him relatively quickly, finding that Logan had been right when he said it would likely be a good escape for him. He’d left the original book on the floor outside Logan’s room as soon as he could, only to find the next book in the series in his locker at the end of the next day.

Once again, Patton slipped the book into his bag along with everything else he needed and headed out to where his club were meeting that week.

He enjoyed the gardening club so much. It was made up off people who Patton absolutely adored, almost all his friends were there, and it was in such a pretty spot out near the back of the school’s playing field. It was almost perfect. The only thing that could have possibly made it better was Virgil coming and joining them.

Patton hummed a random tune to himself happily as he thought about what it would be like if Virgil joined the club. He could teach him everything he’d learnt from Asher and he could learn new things with him. It would be so exciting. Patton’s mind wandered to more intricate details, thinking about how he and Virgil could work so closely on things. For some reason, his cheeks were heating up slightly as he made his way across the field.

He noticed Sophia first and called out to her. She turned and waved to him, heading towards him as Patton put his bag down with hers, “Hey, looks like we’re the first ones here today.” She reached out and pressed her hand to his forehead suddenly, “Are you alright? You’re a little red in the face…”

“I’m fine, I promise! I feel really good!” Patton assured his friend.

Sophia took his words, but still gave him a concerned once over, “Okay… I’ll believe you, but I’m keeping an eye on you.”

Patton smiled fondly as he headed off to the small supply box they kept nearby. He was so happy to have friends that cared and worried about him so much. He giggled to himself as he grabbed a pair of thick gardening gloves. As he closed the lid, Patton caught sight of the rest of their group heading towards them.

“Ughhhhh, I am so done with school. I’m so bad at everything. Can’t I just drop out and live in a dump somewhere?” Abigal whined, dropping onto the ground by the others’ schoolbags.

“No! You’re not bad!” Thomas dropped his bag down with the rest, “You’re the best cat mom I’ve ever met. Where would they live if you lived in a dump? How would you feed them?”

Abigal groaned loudly and lay down on the grass, staring up at the sky, “You’re right… I have to be strong for my children.”

Asher, already having made his way to the supply box, hurled a pair of gardening gloves in Abigal’s direction. The girl shrieked as the unexpected projectile landed in her lap, causing everyone to laugh. Asher was a lot gentler as they threw pairs to both Thomas and Daniel, both of whom fumbled with at least one of them. Ignoring Abigal’s loud comments, Asher began leading their session.

It was a fairly sparse session in terms of new things they were learning about, instead it was more about just hanging out. Both Abigal and Asher were getting stressed out by their upcoming exams; one doing a much better job at handling it than the other. Halfway through the session, all of them had ended up sat in a huddle near their bags, just hanging out.

Daniel seemed to get distracted by something back over by the school building. It didn’t take long for Thomas to notice something was off.

“Hey Daniel, everything alright?” Thomas asked.

The boy in question was startled and quickly flushed a soft pink. He shook his head, “Uh, it’s nothing, really. Just, uh… there’s someone coming over here…” He made a small gesture in the direction he’d been staring.

Everyone turned to see who it was that was coming over. They were pretty close to them at this point, but they weren’t a stranger. Patton immediately jumped to his feet and ran towards the figure, grinning.

“Virgil! What are you doing here?!”

Virgil smiled awkwardly, “I was kept after class for a bit. I was just heading out and I saw you over here, thought I’d come say hi.”

“Well, come on then!” Patton grabbed a hold of Virgil’s hand, pulling the boy behind him as he walked quickly back towards the rest of his group. What he was unable to see was Virgil’s shocked expression and the dart of his eyes to their linked hands, but it was in full view of the rest of the gardening club.

“Everyone, this is my best friend, Virgil. We’ve been really close ever since preschool!” Patton introduced his friend, “I know some of you met him before, but oh well!” The boy sat back down in the spot he had previously occupied.

Virgil stood awkwardly, giving everyone a small smile. He wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t know if he was allowed to sit down with them or if he should say something or not. Before he could spiral too far, Patton patted his leg and indicated for him to sit down next to him. Virgil followed his instruction almost immediately.

It didn’t take long for Virgil to be integrated into the conversations. It was almost as if he’d always hung out with them, he fit in so well. Abigal and Sophia started giving him a hard time about when they first met, but Virgil managed to respond with his own jabs at them, causing a feeling of mutual respect. Virgil was also amazing at getting Daniel to participate in more conversations. Most of the others had a hard time chatting with him, simply because Daniel was such a shy individual, but Virgil seemed to know the exact right words to say to get him to come out of his shell a little more. It was truly wonderful, and Patton was the happiest he’d ever been in that moment. All too soon, it was time for Virgil to head off.

“Well, I gotta head home. Was nice meeting you guys.” Virgil slowly got to his feet, brushing the stray blades of grass off of his clothes. He went to head off, leaving all of them to enjoy themselves but quickly found his arm held by Patton.

“See you guys later! I’m gonna walk back with Virge!” Patton waved goodbye to his friends as he started walking away with Virgil, not letting go of his arm the whole time.

As the pair walked across the field, the rest of the group shared a few glances.

“Are they…?” Sophia trailed off and made some form of gesture with her hands that indicated what she was trying to imply.

“I mean, I don’t think so…” Asher said, turning their attention back to the pair walking away.

“Definitely crushing.” Abigal shrugged, laying back down on her bag and shutting her eyes.

“…We should help them…” Daniel spoke quietly, “Y’know, help them along or whatever…”

Thomas, beside him, grinned and cooed, “Awww, they’d be so cute!”

The five made a silent pact to try and help their friend out. They wouldn’t push hard, just little nudges in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Virgil and Patton were taking a slow walk home. It was a little chilly, but nothing too bad. As they got close to their street, Patton stopped and pointed to a line of trees across the road, “Did you know there’s a park over there? It’s so pretty! I used to go all the time when I was younger, run around and play pretend with…” He trailed off, a sudden sadness coming over him as he remembered who he used to play with.

Virgil looked between his friend and the trees. “Let’s go then.”

The two crossed the road quickly, Patton lagging behind a little as Virgil had started walking as soon as he’d made up his mind. Instead of walking further around, Virgil started to climb through the trees and bushes. He found it was only a couple of lines of trees and a few tall bushes surrounding them, easily making his way into the small deserted park. Virgil turned to see Patton still standing on the other side, clearly unsure of if he wanted to follow his friend through or not.

“C’mon, it’s not that far. Promise you won’t get hurt. Trust me.”

Patton still looked a little unsure but stepped closer anyway. Cautiously, he stepped over the first line of bushes, holding onto the nearby tree for support. He wobbled as he brought his other leg through and stopped moving all together once it was next to him.

Virgil reached through and held out his hand towards Patton, “Hey, it’s okay. You’re actually almost there. Just come here, I’ll help you over this one.”

Patton, shaking slightly, grasped a hold of Virgil’s hand and slowly made his way through the thick undergrowth between the trees. He didn’t let go, even as his friend helped him over the second of the tall bushes, which he ended up practically falling over only to be caught and held by Virgil.

He looked up at Virgil, still holding onto his hand for dear life. They were suddenly so close, close enough for Patton to see even the smallest detail of Virgil’s face. It made his cheeks become warm and butterflies begin to flutter in his stomach, but he was definitely not uncomfortable here against Virgil. It was really only now that Patton realised that Virgil was growing taller than him, it was only a small difference but it made it so Patton had to look up at him.

“See, I told you to trust me.” Virgil’s voice was quiet, a small smile holding a hint of smugness crossing his features.

Patton flushed more, visibly turning pink. He could tell there was a feeling of disappointment when Virgil got him to stand back on his feet and pulled away from him, turning to look around the small grassy area.

“You used to come here a lot?”

Patton finally snapped out of his daze, “Uh, oh, yeah! We’d come here during summer and let Reilly run around. We’d have picnics and play pretend, sometimes using the trees and the climbing frame was always the castle. It was fun.”

The two boys walked around the edge of the park slowly. Virgil listened as Patton recalled many family memories as they circled around. They ended up sitting down on the swings next to the climbing frame, looking out to the rest of the area. It was so quiet and peaceful, even with the sounds of cars driving on the road outside and the noise of families in their homes nearby. It was almost as if it was its own world, separated from their normal reality.

As they lightly swung on the swings, Virgil had a thought. “Hey Pat?”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t we make this our place?” Virgil could see his friend do his little confused head tilt out of the corner of his eye and so he explained, “Like, our place to hang out and chill. To get away from families and all that shit.”

The bottom of Patton’s shoes scraped the ground as he stopped his momentum, “Kinda like our own secret hideout?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“I love it! Yes! This is our place now!” Patton started swinging again, this time actually putting some effort into it and going higher. He giggled openly as he did so. After a minute, he began stopping himself again and pulled out his phone, “I want a picture of us in our place!” He said, opening up the camera app and switching it to his front camera.

“But what if Roman sees the picture, Pat?”

Patton turned back and grinned, “He won’t, because I have a plan. I’m going to keep them in a special safe place that Roman can’t get to!”

It took a few more minutes of explaining everything, but Virgil did eventually feel safe enough to agree and Patton began taking many pictures of the two of them. He didn’t stop as they moved from the swings to other parts of the climbing frame and eventually to the grass. He was swiping through them all, loving each and every one.

Virgil caught sight of a couple of them and grimaced, “Oh god, I look awful. Delete it.”

“No! You look so happy! Every photo is important, Virgie!”

“Whatever, if you say so. Just don’t come to me when you get nightmares from it.”

“I could never get nightmares of you! They’d just be the sweetest of dreams!”

Patton’s words caused Virgil to blush. He watched as his friend continued to swipe through all the pictures, not realising the implication of what he’d just said. Thankfully, before he could dwell on it for much longer, Virgil heard his phone ringing.

“Hi. Uh huh. Yeah, I’m not too far. He’s fine, he’s with me. Mhm. Okay, okay… See you soon. Bye.”

Patton smiled sadly as his friend pocketed his phone once more, “Gotta go home?”

“Yeah…” Virgil’s gaze moved up to look at the sky, already beginning to darken as it was late in the year. He watched the clouds pass by above them, a slight orange tint to their edges in the low sun. Finally, he stood and offered his hand to Patton once again, who took it and stood with him.

They made their way through the actual entrance this time and headed towards their homes. Patton lagged behind as they reached the turning into their street, “I think I’m gonna wait here. Roman might be home soon…”

Virgil felt his stomach drop as disappointment settled in. They now had returned to their world, where there was a wedge between them that still lingered even now, “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Best to be cautious and all that… See you tomorrow, Pat.”

“See ya, Virgie.”

All too soon, Virgil found himself back in his room. He tossed his bag into it’s usual spot at the end of his bed and fell onto the mess of covers, staring up at the ceiling. His mind was thinking about the events of that afternoon, thinking back to how Patton had held onto his arm for that whole walk, thinking back to how Patton had held onto him so tightly and stayed there for longer than he expected, thinking back to how right everything felt just hanging out with the sweet boy. The final nail in the coffin for Virgil was when he replayed the moment that Patton was holding onto him and his mind changed the ending, causing them to kiss.

Virgil felt his face burning and covered it with his hands, groaning loudly in frustration. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the knocking at his door or the sound of it opening.

“Virgil? Everything alright?”

Virgil physically jumped, his body spasming as he sat up sharply. His hand came to rest above his now pounding heart, “Jesus, Logan. You scared the living shit out of me. Don’t you knock?!”

“I did, but you didn’t respond. I just wanted to check up on you.” Logan looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Well, after that, I’m probably gonna die of heart failure. But I’m totally good.” Virgil sent a glared towards his brother, who merely smiled back.

“Ever the one for dramatics, aren’t you? What was all the noise about?”

“Nothing! It’s fine! Just a long day, alright?! Get out!”

Logan sighed and shook his head, “Fine. Dinner is soon. Please refrain from passing before that.” He shut the door finally and Virgil lay back down.

It was almost guaranteed that Logan noticed Virgil’s bright red face as it was showing through his foundation. Virgil tried his best to forget about the thoughts, but the only came more and more - lots of different moments being changed and warped by the new thought.

Across the street, Patton was having the same dilemma. He finally made it back home and into his room. He sat cross legged on his bed, with a plush Virgil had gifted him in his hands. Patton suddenly hugged the plush tightly. He didn’t need to think as much as Virgil, he already knew what it meant, and he was ready to admit it.

Unbeknownst to the other, they both had the same thought at the same time, “I have a crush on him.”


	15. Dates and Break Ups

Throughout the rest of the school year, both Patton and Virgil tried to deal with their newfound feelings. Each of them tried their hardest to not act any different but found themselves spacing out a lot more frequently. Virgil was busy trying to figure out if it was worth telling Patton any of his feelings and what that could possibly do to their friendship. The most common thought was the worst-case scenario of Patton being utterly disgusted with him and distancing himself entirely. Patton, on the other hand, was trying to see if Virgil felt the same way along with when and how he could possibly tell him. He wasn’t thinking about the possible negative repercussions, he was simply focused on knowing if his crush share the same feelings as he did. Both of them had daydreams of what life could be like if they did get together, with Patton indulging in them frequently while Virgil tried to shake them out of his head every time.

This all bled into their summer as well. Both of them had long since settled into a rhythm, getting used to their feelings a little by this point. Patton spent multiple days in a week around at Virgil’s place, becoming more and more like a part of their family.

It was only at the tail end of their summer vacation that they finally had some relief.

Both Roman and Logan had finished their final year of high school and were moving onto higher education. They’d both been accepted into universities and were heading there as soon as they could, moving all their belongings into the new accommodations.

The two younger brothers went along with their families to settle them in and get everything set up. They said their goodbyes late in the evening and then headed back home. The day afterwards, Patton invited Virgil over and he met Patton’s parents for the first time.

They were welcoming, if still a little cautious, clearly having difficulties due to the mindset they’d been in for years thanks to their eldest child. Virgil felt a little uncomfortable over there, so Patton continued to come over to Virgil’s instead.

Both families began trying to patch up their demolished relationship, becoming cordial with each other once again. No longer would they avoid each other’s gaze in the street, instead they would try their hardest to be as welcoming as possible, despite their years of learned behaviour.

When the next school year was just around the corner, Patton was practically vibrating with excitement. He could now hang out with Virgil whenever he wanted, no one would be able to stop them now and nothing bad would happen if they did.

Well, that was what he thought.

Patton had forgotten that a couple of Roman’s group had not yet graduated. Declan was now in his final year and Reggie still had two years left until he left the school. Patton had a scare when he shut his locker on the first day back and saw Declan walk directly past him. Suddenly, all his dreams shattered before him.

At lunch, he picked at his food, still upset. He was initially only accompanied by Abigal, as the two of them had been released for lunch a little early. They were sat at their usual table. Patton was lost in his thoughts, daydreaming about how he could have possibly actually spent this time with Virgil if it weren’t for those two older students that still lingered around. He began to create scenarios in his head of him and Virgil sharing food, laughing together, just being able to spend time together.

“Hellooo? Earth to Patton! Come back down from the Fathership!”

Abigal’s voice and clicking fingers snapped him out of his thoughts, “Huh, what? Fathership?”

The girl in front of him pouted, “That’s the bit you actually pay attention to?” She sighed and took another bite of the sandwich in her hand, “You go to the Fathership because you act like a dad all the time. Wouldn’t make sense for you to go back to the mothership…” She spoke through the food in her mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Abi! We’ve talked about this.”

“See?! That’s what I mean!” Abigal swallowed her bite before continuing, “So, you didn’t actually hear anything I said before?”

Patton sheepishly shook his head, “No, sorry… I guess I was daydreaming a little…”

“Ugh, just because your love life is going well doesn’t mean you can ignore my disastrous mess! Just let me rant at you and you be sympathetic to my woes!” Abigal dramatically lay herself down across the table.

Patton flushed a little, “What do you mean ‘my love life’? I, I have no love life. What?” He stuttered out, clearly flustered.

Abigal ignored his rattled nature and continued wallowing in her self-pity, “If you say so. Mine is even worse… He doesn’t even notice me or know I exist…” She went into a mock crying rant about how her crush was just the worst person she’d ever met but was also constantly on her mind and she just couldn’t stop thinking about him. Eventually, she turned to wistfully stare across the cafeteria and Patton followed her gaze.

He wasn’t at all shocked to find her staring at Reggie, who sat with a completely different group of students at the far side of the cafeteria. It didn’t seem like he was too close with them, however, as he was just constantly on his phone and was ignoring them. It was almost as if he didn’t know what to do with himself since the majority of his usual group were now gone.

Patton’s attention was brought back to the girl sitting with him as she stood suddenly, determination blazing through her eyes, “I’m gonna do it.” Apparently, she’d been thinking the entire time that Patton had been occupied with considering Reggie’s situation and she’d made up her mind. Taking a deep breath, Abigal held her head high and crossed the cafeteria, weaving between the tables until she ended up in front of Reggie.

From where he sat, Patton was never going to be able to hear any of the conversation, but he assumed it was going pretty well as Abigal took the seat across from the older student a minute later and Patton could just about tell that Reggie had put down his phone finally.

Then the rest of Patton’s usual lunch group appeared.

“Where’s Abi? Thought she’d be here by now.” Sophia asked, taking the seat beside Patton and looking around the cafeteria for the girl in question.

“Over there.” Patton pointed to her position.

“She’s actually talking to him? Never thought I’d see the day.” Asher took the seat next to where Abigal’s belongings were still on the table.

Daniel and Thomas silently took their seats but were also looking in the direction of their remaining group member. All of them began trying to figure out how their interaction was going and what they were talking about. Daniel looked at the pair the least, while Sophia’s eyes were almost constantly watching them.

They managed to ascertain that it must be going well as Abigal hadn’t yet abandoned ship and returned to them, and Reggie hadn’t decided to up and leave either. In fact, they could all see that he was clearly enjoying himself a lot.

About half way through lunch, Patton received a text from Virgil.

_Wanna hang for lunch? Have a spot outside and people for you to meet. Bring others if you want, just let me know how many._

“Hey, wanna go hang with Virgil for lunch?” Patton questioned his group. They all had finished their food by this point and were just using the rest of the time to relax so they decided to take Virgil’s offer. Patton replied to the text, informing Virgil that he’d be bringing four people along with him.

As they were all packing up, Thomas remembered Abigal’s things were still at their table, “Oh! I’ll take them over to her.” He circled around to the spot she previously sat and collected up her things, “Go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

The rest of them headed out of the cafeteria but waited by the double doors for Virgil to appear and lead them to wherever they were going to hang out. This also allowed them to wait for Thomas to come back and join them. Both of the boys appeared at the same time.

“It’s definitely going very well in there.” Thomas laughed, “They’re getting along great and I think she might actually tell him she likes him, or that she hates him for making her like him… I can’t quite tell.” He then recounted what he’d experienced at Sophia’s request.

Thomas mentioned how Abigal had turned a bright shade of red when he approached and gave her the bag. She awkwardly introduced both of the boys to each other, allowing the two of them a brief interaction. He spoke of how Reggie seemed to be a decent guy, totally nonchalant about pretty much everything and how he was definitely very interested in Abigal if the way he kept teasing her with an already picked out nickname was anything to go by.

“Oh my god. That boy better watch himself. He hurts her at all, he’ll have me to answer to.” Sophia pretended to crack her knuckles.

“Okay, calm down. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Abigal’s a big girl, she can handle herself.” Asher pushed Sophia’s hands down, shaking their head.

All this time, the group had been making their way through the courtyard, following Virgil’s lead. As Sophia had voiced her threat, they turned a corner and arrived at a tucked away pair of benches next to the drama hall were three other people were already sat.

Virgil took a seat and gestured around at the others, “So, this is Ana and Em and Ayana. Guys, this is Patton, my best friend, and his friends.”

Patton waved and took up the space next to Virgil, “Yeah, we’ve been best friends since forever! It’s great to mee-”

“Wait, aren’t you Roman’s brother?” Ana cut Patton off sharply, “How are you two friends?! Your brothers fucking hate each other.”

Patton was surprised by the harshness of Ana’s words, but Virgil managed to cover for him, “It was hard work and a lot of stealth. Patton’s probably maxed that skill by now.”

Beside them, everyone else had taken a seat either on the benches or on the arms. Everyone took a while to introduce themselves, but when it came time for Ayana to speak, she shrunk back into her jacket and attempted to hide from everyone.

“That’s Ayana. She’s super shy, but she’s a total sweetheart, I promise. She just needs some time to get used to you all.” Em helpfully spoke for her, giving Ayana a gentle smile that was returned with a thankful look.

“Oh, she’ll love Daniel then. He’s also extremely shy, but he’s a softie.” Sophia pointed to the tall boy who looked alarmed at the attention being brought to him.

The rest of lunch went by in a blur as everyone began familiarising themselves with each other. It didn’t take all that long for it to feel like they’d been one whole group for the entirety of high school, excluding Ayana and Daniel remaining in their shells for the most part.

Patton ended up resting against Virgil, who seemed to instinctively throw his arm around his best friend. They stayed like that until the end of lunch arrived, completely unaware of all the looks their friends shared with each other. After checking the time and noticing that it was almost time to head to call, everyone stood and stretched out, lingering for a little while longer as they really didn’t want to go back to classes.

“Hey, if you guys are interested, we have a gardening club that only our group are in. If you wanna come hang out, you’re more than welcome.” Asher offered as they all picked up their bags and were preparing to leave.

Em turned to her partner, eyes shining, “Ooo! Can we join them? It would be so fun! When is it on?”

“On most Tuesdays, after school.”

Em began making plans to join the group, Ana deciding to follow their partner to the club if that’s what she really wanted to do. Virgil said he’d think about joining them but he still wasn’t sure as he wasn’t really into gardening all that much.

“A-are you sure it’s okay to join?” Ayana piped up as they began to make their way inside, her voice barely audible.

“Yeah, it’s literally only us at the moment. Even if you don’t wanna do any gardening, people sometimes just sit nearby and chat or listen to what we’re doing.” Asher smiled at her warmly. Ayana nodded and lit up with her own wide smile for the first time, telling them she’d be there next week.

The group dispersed, heading for their classrooms. They did agree to meet back up there tomorrow for lunch as well, finding it to be a nice secluded location. Virgil accompanied Patton as far as he could go but had to go into his classroom well before Patton’s was even nearby. He was about to say goodbye to his friend, but then Abigal’s voice came from down the hallway.

“Patton! Patton! Oh my god! I have to tell someone, or I’ll just die! Hi Virgil!” She ran up to the boys and bounced up and down on her toes.

“How did it go?” Patton asked, knowing that Abigal was definitely talking about her encounter with Reggie.

“It was so good, Pat! He asked me out. On a date. On Saturday. This is the best day of my life, I swear. I am up in the clouds with all the angels, I swear nothing can bring me back down!” Abigal squealed, holding Patton’s hands in her own as she jumped up and down. She quickly released them as she gasped, “Oh! Gotta get to class! Bye!!” And with that, she was gone.

Patton laughed, while Virgil looked after her, slightly bewildered, “She’s always like that, huh?”

“Yeah, she’s always full of energy.”

“So, who asked her out?”

Patton went to explain Abigal’s crush but was cut off by the bell signifying class beginning. He promised to explain later and ran to his own classroom, reaching his seat a minute later. Thankfully, his teacher was forgiving and didn’t mark him as late.

Once school was over, Patton headed home alone. He knew Virgil had his music lesson today and so wouldn’t be home for a while, so he had time to finish his homework. Just as he was sitting down at his desk, Patton heard his phone buzz. Upon checking it, he could see messages from his group chat.

_CatMom: GUYS! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! AHHHHHH!_

_PlantGod: So, lunch went well?_

_CatMom: YESYESYESYES IT WAS FANTASTIC!_

_Avenger: Ohhhh??? Someone got a date?????_

Abigal had then sent a gif of someone nodding furiously with large text reading HELL YES!

_Puffball: I’m so happy for you!_

_Avenger: Tell me if he hurts you. I’ll fight him._

Sophia followed her threat with a similarly threatening gif.

_CatMom: SOPHIA NO. HES GOOD. DONT HURT HIM!_

Patton decided not to join the conversation. Instead, he kept his phone unlocked and followed the rest of the conversation as it unfolded, getting homework completed on the side. He was searching through some videos when he saw that he had a text from Virgil saying he was home. Patton quickly picked up his phone and headed downstairs.

“I’ll be back later! Going to Virgil’s!” He called out to his parents.

“Be home before dinner, sweetheart!” His mom called back to him.

In no time, Patton was sat comfortably on Virgil’s bed. His friend was still sorting his music stuff out, but Patton was used to spending time with Virgil like this. They chatted about little, unimportant things until Virgil was finished.

“So, you were going to tell me who your friend has a date with?” Virgil asked as he took up a space next to Patton on his bed.

“Oh right!” Patton began to finally recount Abigal’s crush and everything that had come with it; all the awkward moments where she froze up whenever he got close to her, the times she ranted about how awful he was whilst peppering in some comments about how he was gorgeous or nice. He told Virgil everything he could recall, leading up to that lunch time where Abigal had finally confronted him and gotten a date. While Patton was extremely happy for his friend, Virgil didn’t look all too happy.

“Isn’t Reggie one of Roman’s friends?” Virgil spoke slowly, clearly trying to hold himself together a little.

Patton suddenly became concerned, “Well, yeah, he was a part of that group…” He felt his stomach begin churning again, something he hadn’t experienced since Roman’s last outburst on the final day of school last year.

“Well… couldn’t that… be bad? If he gets with her? He could find out about us hanging out and tell Roman, and who knows what could happen then? Roman could do anything. Could come back and fuck everything up. Could harass us both over text or whatever. He could do so much to make everything awful. Oh god, he could do so much to make our lives hell.” Virgil brought his legs up to his chin and hugged them tightly, clearly spiralling into his anxious thoughts.

Patton worked quickly. He rested a hand on Virgil’s tense arm and spoke to him softly, getting him to work through some of the exercises that Virgil’s therapist had taught him in order to reduce anxiety and panic attacks.

This did give Patton a chance to think about what Virgil had said. He did have to admit that Virgil had a point, Reggie could still be close with Roman and could tell him about them, which would cause a huge problem. Patton found his stomach churning even more, making him feel nauseous. He pushed it aside and tried to focus all his attention on helping Virgil calm down.

Soon, Virgil’s arms loosened, and his legs fell over the side of the bed again. He breathed deeply, swallowing down air. Patton moved to rub small circles on Virgil’s back, pulling out his phone with his free hand.

Patton scrolled through the chat, skimming the messages as lingering on them for too long filled him with nausea all over again. Patton had no idea what he was going to do, all he knew was he’d have to do it fast.

He did it the next day. He found Abigal at her locker the next morning and approached her. He told her all of the worries that had plagued him that night, watching as her usual smile dropped and she looked at him as though he had punched her in the stomach.

Abigal was uncharacteristically quiet when she spoke at the end of his speech, though she got louder as she progressed, “You really think that low of him? I get it, he was a part of that group but he’s not a bad guy. He didn’t even like Roman. He only was there to hang out with Remy. He told me!”

“Abi, I just… I don’t want to stop you! I’m just worried, I can’t do this to Virgil or to me.” Patton’s eyes were beginning to feel like they were going to cry, and his throat was going dry and beginning to ache, “There is no way I can go back to living in fear of Roman finding out. Don’t you get it?”

“So, what do you want me to do, Patton?” Abigal’s voice dripped with venom and sarcasm, “You want me to just forget about it? Cancel on the guy I’ve been fucking dying over for the last four years of my life? All because you _think_ that he _might_ tell Roman, even though _I_ am sure that he wouldn’t do that? Is that what you want?”

“No! I just wa-”

“You can’t have it both ways, Patton!” Abigal slammed her locker shut, shouting loud enough to catch the attention of everyone in the vicinity, “Whatever. Have fun with your _best friend._ ” Abigal spat the final words, before turning and walking away.

Patton watched, unable think of what to do. He stood there, tears finally coming to his eyes. He tried to blink them back as he walked towards the main common area where he knew Virgil would be but wasn’t able to stop the few that trickled down his cheeks. He managed to sit down in a chair at the table before Virgil noticed, at which point Patton was pulled into a hug. He started sobbing quietly, not quite being able to believe that he’d just lost a friend so quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been in my head for months now - it's playing out a little differently than I thought about it, but it works with the story better and I just super excited to get to the second half of it!
> 
> Also, sorry Patton <3 I know it's your birthday and I just hurt you real bad... <3


	16. Making Up

Abigal was pointedly ignoring everyone for the rest of the week. She completely avoided each of the group’s attempts at talking with her, going so far as to turn and take longer routes to class just to get away. She wasn’t looking it or responding to anyone’s messages via text or social media. Abigal had ditched them completely.

Patton was utterly torn up by it all, but he did still have the rest of his friends and new ones to help him along. Lunches, while good, felt too quiet even with the addition of Virgil’s group. Everyone was feeling the effects, but no one really understood what happened. Each time Patton tried to tell them, he found himself tearing up and unable to finish the story.

Each day, Virgil did everything he could to look after his best friend. He walked Patton to each class he could, even if it made him late on multiple occasions. He made sure to have Patton come over to his every day so they could talk and hopefully take his mind off it.

It wasn’t until the weekend passed and Monday had rolled around that Abigal finally seemed to swallow her pride. She approached the group at lunch that day, face blank and expressionless. “Hey.”

Everyone was silent.

“So, the date went well.”

There was a slight tremor to her bottom lip which Patton picked up on, “That’s… that’s great.” He said, trying to smile but found it insincere.

“Yeah. I told him what you said to me too.”

Patton’s eyes widened significantly, his body tensing entirely as fear shot through him to every extremity, “O-oh?”

Abigal’s eyes flicked around the corner towards the main courtyard for a brief second, her attention taken by something else. Her lip was now being bitten down at its corners, trying to stop the quivering, but she continued on, “Mhm. And, well-” She cut herself off, huffing loudly before moving around the corner a little, “You fucking asshole! Stop!”

There was laughter from where she’d disappeared. Ana, who sat on the armrest of the bench facing towards the main courtyard, peered around to see Abigal and another person standing there. The guy looked to be watching the girl in front of him with a highly amused look, unphased by her sudden outburst.

Before anyone could ask them what they’d seen, Abigal came back around to stand in their view, sighing deeply and trying to bite back her smile, “Uh, right, ummm… where was I?”

The guy standing out of view spoke, a deep sound laced with a thick accent, “You’re on the third line.”

Abigal exaggerated pouted in the direction of the voice, “You’re supposed to stay quiet until I tell you! Ugh, this is all ruined, everything is a mess, my life is over!” She dramatically cried, finally coming back to her usual self.

All the gathered kids that she was addressing were utterly confused by what was going on, until the boy finally came into view. Patton had already pieced together the voice and the situation and knew it had to be Reggie, and everyone else seemed to have realised in their own ways as no one really showed much shock.

Reggie stood next to Abigal, taking over the speech, “She told me what you said, and it just made me laugh. I can see where you’re coming from, but take it from me, I am never getting in contact with your brother again and neither is anyone else, I am sure of that.”

“How can you be so sure?” Virgil asked, looking a little suspicious. He was holding Patton, trying to keep the other boy calm without losing it himself.

Reggie chuckled softly, the noise almost reverberating around in the silence, “Because everyone hated him. We just ended up there by chance; I was only there for Remy, trust me. The twins only liked it because it was someone telling them what to do and they got to beat kids up, they really loved doing that.” Reggie rolled his eyes and sighed, clearly showing his lack of fondness for the two he’d mentioned.

He explained Declan’s motivations; how he just enjoyed stirring up trouble. Reggie managed to recall three separate instances where Declan actually worked against Roman, simply because he found it fun, “He doesn’t care if it’s not something fun. You could ask him to set up some stuff for you, if you really wanted.”

When it came to Remy, that’s where things got complicated. Reggie told them that Remy was Roman’s only real friend and was likely the only one left in contact with him, which made Patton - who had just started to relax - tense up again, “I’m not finished. Don’t worry about that. He already knew about you guys anyway. He just never brought it up to Roman, especially as he got more and more stuck on the whole Logan thing.”

Both Patton and Virgil looked utterly shocked. The one other person they’d been terrified of finding out about them knew and had actually hidden it from Roman? That changed a lot.

“Also,” Reggie continued, “I have to be honest. Your brother is… a Grade TB bag of douche.” There was a beat before everyone’s face crumpled up in confusion at his words. Utterly unaffected, Reggie simply looked around at all of them as if what he’d said was perfectly normal.

A soft voice sounded from the back corner, “…He means Grade A Douchebag.”

All eyes turned towards Ayana, who quickly shrank back into herself, trying to avoid all the attention she’d just brought onto herself.

Meanwhile, Reggie sighed, shaking his head, “English is the worst language, so it doesn’t even matter.”

 “Wait, do you speak other languages?” Asher asked. While they looked extremely interested, just behind them sat Sophia who was watching Reggie like a hawk, practically daring him to do something.

Reggie moved to sit on the opposing armrest to Ana, dragging Abigal over with him and then into his lap, “English is my third language.”

Various people seemed impressed and asked him for more details. A lot of the conversation that lunch break was dominated by Reggie answering questions and more introductions of everyone. By the end of the hour, the entire group had become attached to him and invited him to join them every day.

“Of course.” Reggie said, “There’s already one reason to come around, so why not have a few more?” He rested his head easily on Abigal’s shoulder, who giggled and flushed.

There was one question left unanswered as they all began to get ready to head off to their classes. Everyone was in the midst of picking up their bags when someone asked the question they’d all been wondering.

“So, are you two dating or what?” Ana asked harshly.

While Em tried to chastise them for their tone, Reggie simply smiled and rested an arm around Abigal, pulling her closer to him in the process. Instead of stopping there, he used his free hand to lift her head towards him, so he was able to press a kiss to her lips more easily. When he pulled away, Abigal was stock still, her face almost illuminated red, yet she still managed to get out a smile.

Reggie turned back to the other couple, “That answer your question?”

A round of nods followed and they all went their separate ways. Patton moved fast, trying to catch up with Reggie before he left to go to the other side of the school for his lessons. He called out to the older boy, causing the student in question to stop and turn.

“What can I help you with?”

Patton let out a soft breath, “I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said to Abi. I didn’t want to stop her or anything, I was just worried! Everything was finally going to be good, we didn’t have to be worried anymore, but there was still the chance… I’m really, really sorry.”

Reggie smiled and patted the shorter boy’s head, “It’s alright. I can see where you’re coming from. I wasn’t offended or anything, it was just funny.”

Patton grinned up at Reggie, feeling much lighter than he’d felt in years. He still had one more thing he wanted to do, “Oh, can I ask you for a favour?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“I want to get in touch with Remy. Can you help me?”

Reggie looked a little taken aback by the request but recovered in seconds. “Okay, do you have a pen?”

Patton pulled one out of his bag. Reggie snatched it up quickly and pulled Patton’s hand out, palm upwards. He scrawled something onto Patton’s hand, putting the pen in that same one when he was done. He left with a simple goodbye, leaving Patton standing alone in the courtyard. The young boy looked at what was now inked onto his hand and smiled.

After school, Patton was standing by his locker, putting all his stuff away. He was about to shut the door when someone tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn sharply.

“Uh… hi? Can we talk?”

It was Abigal, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Patton shut the door and smiled, “Sure.”

Abigal silently led him out to the edge of the school’s field, taking a seat on the short wooden fence that surrounded part of the field. Patton sat next to her, watching as she stared out into the distance.

There was a sharp intake of breath and a slow release before Abigal spoke, “I didn’t mean what I said, or the way I said it. I’m really sorry. It’s just that, it was finally happening. He’d asked me out, he was interested in me and it had taken a lot for me to go up and speak to him and everything. I was really hyped up on it and was so excited and people were supporting it. So, when you came to me and told me everything, it was a huge blow…” She dropped her head, looking utterly exhausted. “But that doesn’t excuse what I did and what I said. I am so sorry for ditching everyone, for ignoring everyone… and for yelling at you…” Her throat caught on the last word. Patton could see her eyes shining with tears. He was going to speak but she continued, voice shaking, “You’re just… one of the best friends I have and it fucking hurts to know I hurt you. Virgil fucking messaged me a two-page essay about how I’d made you cry and everything. I know I don’t think before I speak sometimes and I know I’m impulsive and stupid and reckless and dumb and everything like that, but I still shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for something like that. I am sosososososo sorry.”

Tears slid down her cheeks as Patton wrapped his arms around her. His voice was soft and comforting, “It’s okay, I promise. I forgive you. I should have been more aware of how you were feeling myself and I’m sorry for that.”

Abigal shook her head against him violently, “No, no. You don’t get to apologise for worrying about that shit, because that shit was fucking awful. You had every damn fucking right to be cautious, I was just a dumb, blind piece of shit.”

“Now, don’t you talk about yourself like that. You’re not any of those things, you were just excited and then I came along and stopped it.” Patton scolded, squeezing her tighter for a moment, “You may not want me to say sorry, but I’m going to.”

Abigal audibly pouted, but wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging him back, “Fine, but I’m not gonna like it.”

“I think I can live with that one.” Patton giggled quietly, “Also, awful language.”

“Whatever, dad.” Abigal finally cracked a smile, looking up to her friend. They sat looking out to the field for a bit longer, letting the calm seep into them.

Patton eventually turned to Abi, “So, wanna tell me about the date?”

That got her back to her excitable self. She rambled about every detail of the date, squealing happily and grinning the whole way through. Patton let himself enjoy her story. He was happy to have her as a friend, and so happy to have made up with her. They both walked out of the school gates as she was finishing up the final points. He waved as Abigal got into the car with her dad before heading off back home on his own.

When he got home, Patton pulled up a social media site and searched for the name that was now slightly smudged on his palm. It turned up several results, but the top one was definitely what he was looking for. He opened up a new chat and typed a simple message.

_Thank you so much._

Patton minimised the chat window and spent a bit of time scrolling through the pictures on the profile he’d opened. He couldn’t help but find them endearing. Some of them showed his brother, back when he was normal, before he’d let his obsession with Logan take him over, before he’d been lost. Patton wiped away the silent tears that trailed down his face.

A noise brought his attention to the chat. He opened it up to see a couple of short messages, with the typing notification showing.

_It’s cool.  
I know you miss your brother. _

Patton held back more tears at the realisation that it was true. He did miss his brother, his actual brother. The next message came through.

_And I do too._

Patton choked back the sobs that threatened to come out. He went to minimise the chat, but misclicked and opened up one of the pictures instead. The image showed Remy hanging out in Roman’s room with Roman, Reggie and Declan. Declan was turned away from the camera for the most part, while all three of the others posed. The caption said something about a sleepover.

Immediately, Patton scrambled for his phone and opened the group chat, which now had everyone added to it. He sent one word.

_Dad: Sleepover?_


	17. Preparations

Upon reading Patton’s message, Virgil flung himself off his bed and ran down the stairs. His parents, who were watching a movie in the living room, looked up as he entered the room.

“What’s got you all excited, honey?” His mom smiled at him.

“Patton just asked about having a sleepover with our friends. Would I be allowed to go?” Virgil could feel his phone vibrating with new messages as he stood there waiting for a reply. He knew his parents would likely be okay with it, but there was still that part of him that was waiting for the worst response.

His father grinned, “As long as it’s not a school night, I don’t see why not.”

“Wait. Where are you going?” His mother’s expression was now serious.

Virgil shrugged, “Dunno yet, but we’re probably gonna figure it out either today or tomorrow? Mom, it’ll be fine, I’m with Patton and our friends.”

“ _Our_ friends?” His mom sounded surprised. It was only then that Virgil realised he hadn’t even mentioned that him and Patton were now hanging out at school, and that their friend groups had merged together.

Virgil awkwardly shuffled to lean against the door frame, turning his phone in his hand, “Yeah, uh, me and Patton are hanging out at lunch and stuff now. He kinda brought his friends over and we all talk and stuff, it’s nothing huge or anything.”

His parents got him to talk about all his new friends before letting him finally return upstairs to his room, with them saying that as soon as he knew where it was going to be held and when it was happening, they’d be more than happy to let him go. As Virgil walked up the stairs, he unlocked his phone and read all the messages he missed.

They were all either people excitedly agreeing or messages where they were trying to figure out a place and time for this event to happen. Virgil, after closing the door to his room and laying back down on his bed, joined in on the conversation.

_Skellington: We could sort this out at lunch?  
Skellington: Also, I’m down to come._

There was a resounding agreement that they’d figure all the details out at lunch tomorrow. Virgil put his phone back down, chat still open so he could what else would be happening. He picked up the old, heavily used notebook Patton got him years ago. He looked over what he’d written on the page, trying to think of where to take it next. He was trying to write his own song, but just couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted to do with it.

Sighing, he gave up and put the notebook back on his desk. Virgil wanted to practice, but he knew it was getting pretty late and his parents might not appreciate him playing at this time. Instead, he dragged his laptop over the bed and curled up under the covers with it on his lap. Virgil passed the time by watching videos and scrolling through various websites. Before he could register it, he fell asleep, the laptop beside him slipping into sleep mode within the hour.

The next morning, Virgil arrived at the school with Patton. They were early as usual, yet Virgil didn’t feel as tired as he normally would from having to get up at such an early time. For some reason, he was extremely excited about the prospect of figuring out this sleepover plan. It would be the first time he would ever be going to one. Part of the energy he felt was likely from his fear and anxieties that were mulling over the idea in the back of his head for now, but he wanted to enjoy excited feeling for the moment. Another part of it was likely from the kid who took a seat across from him at their usual morning table who was happily rambling about all the things they could do.

“Ooo, we could do Truth or Dare and watch all these movies, all sleep in the same room and it will be so cool!” Patton tapped a couple of his fingers on the edge of the table and grinned, practically vibrating with excitement.

Virgil couldn’t ignore the simple fact that Patton was just the most adorable being on the planet. Abigal would fight him, saying it was definitely her cats, but Virgil had to disagree. The way his friend got so excited about even the smallest of things was absolutely precious, the smile he held when he was happy was just so infectious that it made Virgil want to smile every time. Everything about this boy that had befriended him years ago and had never given up on him even when there was the biggest wall between both of them was just so cute, and Virgil could never stop noticing the small details.

But he didn’t say any of this. Instead, he responded to Patton’s suggestion, “Truth or Dare sounds dangerous with some of them. I mean, Ana will do anything, and I get the same vibe from Sophia and Abi…”

Patton’s face crumpled up as he thought. At anyone who wasn’t used to him would likely think it was exaggerated, but Virgil knew by now that this was just the way Patton was and he could help but chuckle at the loveable boy.

“You’re right… but we could still have tons of fun! It’s a great time for everyone to really get to know each other!” Patton giggled, “We just have to make sure no one gives them anything that would be too dangerous or anything like that.”

Patton continued to brainstorm all the ideas he could think of and all the details he wanted, such as the snacks they’d share and the movies they’d watch and the blankets and pillows they’d all bring, while Virgil listened and offered his own thoughts whenever he felt like it. Virgil absolutely lov- adored that about Patton, the fact he would never press Virgil for a contribution to a conversation. It made all their interactions extremely relaxing for Virgil, which was something he never thought he’d be able to say about talking with another human being.

The tables around them were filling up with students as time passed, meaning it was getting closer and closer to their class time. Virgil thought back to when him and Patton would take turns sitting on the side of the table where they could keep a look out for any of Roman’s friend group coming by, how they would go quiet around this time of the morning, both pretending they just sat at the same table by accident.

“Virgil?” Patton’s voice brought him back to the present. As Virgil refamiliarized himself with where he was, he was suddenly all too aware of how close Patton’s face was to his own all of a sudden. He didn’t even have a moment to think about when his friend had gotten so close as Patton started to speak.

“Are you okay? You seemed distracted and you look a little red. Are you getting sick?” Patton asked, his hand coming to rest on his best friend’s forehead.

Virgil’s face was burning up with the soft touch of Patton’s hand and the light fanning of Patton’s breath against his face. He was starting to feel a little dizzy but tried to power through. Virgil cleared his throat, “I’m fine, Pat. Promise. Just was… thinking. I-It’s fine.”

Patton pouted but brought his hand away, “Okay… if you say so… Just visit the nurse if you are getting sick.” Virgil internally mourned at the loss of his touch but didn’t have any time to really respond as a member of staff came into the area and called out that classes were beginning soon. Both of the boys shouldered their bags and said their goodbyes, heading off in their own directions for class.

All throughout his morning lessons, Virgil was distracted by the simple thought of Patton. He was definitely not paying attention in his boring English class or his extra boring Science class, choosing to doodle in the margin of his paper instead of taking notes. His doodles started off like any other day’s doodles, but slowly they changed as his mind was overtaken by thoughts of his best friend. Virgil caught himself doodling a heart several times and absolutely decimated it with scribbles of ink each time. After the seventh time, he decided it was probably a good idea to start paying attention to his classes.

Finally, lunchtime came, and Virgil was out of the awful classrooms with kids he barely knew, let alone liked. He stopped by his locker to grab his lunch and to swap out any books he didn’t need for the next classes. Virgil tried not to take too long as he wanted to be at their lunch spot early enough to grab the seat next to Patton.

Virgil started to think back to previous days, finding he was unable to recall a single day where he didn’t sit next to Patton at lunch. _Must just be a coincidence_ , Virgil thought as he locked the metal door and made his way to the usual spot. He rounded the corner and was immediately greeted by all the kids gathered in the secluded corner.

“Perfect timing, Virgil. We were just about to figure out this sleepover thing!” Sophia grinned and gave him a thumbs up, her eyes following his every movement as he took the seat next to Patton.

“So, nothing’s been decided yet?” Virgil asked, sliding his schoolbag under the bench. Everyone shook their heads in response. It was evident that they needed someone to start the whole thing off, but no one really knew where to start.

Patton decided to speak first, “Well, the last time we had a sleepover we went to Asher’s, so would that work?”

Asher shook their head, “No, it’s way too small for all of us. There’s, what, eleven of us now?” They quickly did a headcount to double check, “Yeah, eleven. Anyone have a space big enough for all of us?”

“Well, me and Virgil don’t. Both of our homes are similar and mine is way way too small!” Patton said, clearly a little upset they couldn’t go to a place he was familiar with.

Em was deep in thought, “Mine might be big enough? Oh, but I guess we’d all want to be in the same room… Yeah, no, never mind.”

They went around the group and everyone was realising their homes were too small to house both their families and their suddenly large friend group. The final person to be asked was Ayana, who was curled up in the corner as usual.

“I think my house is big enough…” She said softly, “My parents would probably be happy to have everyone too…” Ayana trailed off, clearly a little embarrassed by the thought of her parents. Her discomfort in the situation was extremely obvious to a large majority of the group.

Patton turned to her, “It’s okay! We don’t have to go to yours, if you don’t want us to! I’m sure we can figure something out!”

Ayana glanced up at him, looking conflicted, “I do want to have you all come over… It’s just… my parents are… a lot.” She mumbled, eyes cast downwards.

“Well, why don’t we figure out a day and time for us all that’s good and you can think it over for a while!” Patton grinned wide as Ayana returned to looking at him with a grateful smile, responding with only a gentle nod of agreement.

“Right, so what day? This weekend?” Patton asked the group. No one had any objections or had any plans it seemed, so they all agreed the weekend would be good - Saturday was the preferable day for them all.

Just as they all agreed and Thomas was halfway through a text to Abigal with the information, the girl in question appeared with Reggie alongside.

“Sorry we’re late! Got a bit caught up getting food!” Abigal’s blushing cheeks told a different story, and Sophia was more than happy to point it out. This led to the two girls beginning to argue playfully.

Reggie decided to not get involved. He instead took up the last remaining seat space, “So, what’s going on?”

“We were just trying to figure out where to go for the sleepover we’ve planned for Saturday.” Patton, who was now the driving force of this discussion, explained. He then immediately had a thought, “Oh! Abi!”

“Huh?” Abigal turned quickly to look at Patton, eyes wide as she’d been so busy with her argument with Sophia that she hadn’t been paying attention.

“Have you not added Reggie to the group chat yet?”

If her eyes could have widened further, Abigal’s definitely would have. “Oh shit. I totally forgot!” She dug through her bag that she’d put on the floor in order to look for her phone.

“Wow. I can’t believe you forgot about me like that.” Reggie looked over the arm of the bench at her, feigning a hurt expression.

Abigal stuck her tongue out at him as she finally grasped her phone. As she went through the process of adding her boyfriend to their large group chat, Abigal took a seat in Reggie’s lap and they both adjusted themselves as if it were something they’d been doing their whole lives.

“So, did you say you were trying to find a place to go for this thing?” Reggie asked, looking over Abigal’s shoulder to Patton.

Patton nodded, “Yeah, the only place we know that’s big enough for all of us together is Ayana’s place, but she’s a little nervous about having all of us over.”

“You can all just come to mine. There is a lot of space we can use there.”

“Are you sure? Your parents won’t mind or anything?”

Reggie scoffed, “Parents? Is that another English word I don’t know?” He couldn’t contain how proud he was of himself as all the other kids around him looked bewildered and confused, “I don’t live with my parents, or any parents anymore.”

All of the students turned to look at him in shock, including the girl in his lap.

“Wait, so you live alone?” Em asked disbelievingly.

“Only for the past two months.”

“Lucky…” Ana sighed wistfully, “Would be so cool to live on my own…”

“Okay! So it’s settled! Saturday at Reggie’s place!” Patton clapped his hands together loudly, catching everyone’s attention. He asked Reggie to send his address in the group chat and asked everyone else to check with their families about the day and make sure it was still alright for them all to come along.

While this whole conversation happened in the background, Virgil was distracted. He was inspired by the casual nature of Abigal and Reggie’s contact, how they didn’t seem to even have to think to fit together. He found himself wanting that with Patton so badly, he wanted to be able to casually rest an arm around Patton and have the other boy instinctively fit against his side, he wanted to easily slip his hand under his friend’s and have them both work without thinking to interlink their fingers. He just wanted to be able to do it right now, without having to wonder about Patton’s reaction.

“Hey Emo! Come back from the darkness!” Someone clapping just inches from his face brought Virgil out of his thoughts violently. He was quickly able to realise it was Ana, as they were currently being berated by their girlfriend for the action.

“Sorry Virgil.” Em said after a moment.

Virgil shrugged and shook his head, “It’s cool, just need to calm my heart down after that. Might have a heart attack from that rude awakening.”

Ana scoffed and rolled their eyes, crossing their arms, “Sure, whatever. Your heart is just weak then.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about Patton like that!” Abigal shouted.

Both Virgil and Patton immediately blushed at her comment, neither having a single clue what to say in response to it. Everyone in the group laughed, but they quickly moved onto another topic. Virgil was extremely happy they didn’t linger on it. As much as he found himself adoring every single thing about Patton, he still wasn’t sure how Patton felt about him. It didn’t seem to go much further than just best friends and Virgil really didn’t want to try and act on his feelings and be utterly wrong and destroyed.

Though Abigal’s comment and the laughter gave Virgil a bad feeling that this sleepover might bring about some trouble. He’d just have to wait and see.


	18. Sleepover Begins

The days crawled by as Patton waited impatiently for the upcoming Saturday. Each day the group chat would be filled with messages of everyone planning what they would need to bring for the sleepover. Em, Ana and Ayana were tasked with getting all the snacks while Asher, Thomas and Daniel were given the responsibility of getting drinks. Everyone else was to bring entertainment. Abigal said she’d bring the video games while Sophia would bring the ‘real life games’, as she put it. Virgil and Patton were to bring the movies.

When Friday finally ended, Patton practically ran all the way back home to double check the bag he’d already put together. He sat in the middle of his room and pulled everything out to make sure, speaking to himself as he did so. After everything was packed away again, Patton tried to sit down and get at least some of the homework he had left to do for the next week done, but his phone and the group chat distracted him.

People were chiming in with how they were doing so far. Em shared pictures of her two helpers in the kitchen; Ana absolutely covered in flour and other ingredients while Ayana looked to be laughing in the background. Patton quickly sent a picture of the list of movies him and Virgil had picked out, while everyone else listed their choices that were ready for tomorrow.

Patton woke up early the next morning, somehow even more excited that previous days. They’d all planned to get to Reggie’s around midday, giving everyone time to wake up without having to rush too much. Patton was brushing his teeth when he heard his phone chime in the other room. He ran in to see what the message was, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

_ThePrincess: Come over whenever._

A second message came through just as Patton had been able to open the chat.

_ThePrincess: Why am I the princess?_

_Dad: Abi called you the princess when she first told me about you, because Roman was the King and Remy was the Queen!!_

_ThePrincess: …I am both flattered and offended.  
ThePrincess: What else did she say?_

_CatMom: NOTHING I SAIDNO THING PATTON ASHER SHUTUP_

_PlantGod: I didn’t say anything_

_CatMom: GOODK EEP IT THATWAY_

“Patton! Are you done in the bathroom?” Patton’s mom called to him.

“Just a couple more minutes!” He yelled back, darting back into the bathroom. After he was finished brushing his teeth and getting dressed, Patton grabbed the bag he’d repacked the night before and ran down the stairs, “Mom! Reggie said we could come over whenever we wanted, so I’m gonna go over to meet Virgil!” Patton headed for the front door but was stopped when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Not so fast.” His mother walked him into the kitchen and sat him down at the table, “First, you need to eat something.”

Patton groaned, “But mom-!”

“No buts. You need to eat breakfast first. Also, have you told Virgil you’ll be going over?” Patton looked away from his mother, fiddling with his hands as though he were a toddler that just got caught doing something he really shouldn’t. “That’s what I thought. Now, eat up.”

Patton sighed, but did as he was told. He tried not to rush himself too much, because he knew that his mom would get mad about that too. Eventually, he was finally allowed to head out of the house and across the street.

After Patton knocked, the front door was opened by Virgil’s dad, who greeted him with a large smile, “Hello there, young man.”

“Hiya!” Patton followed the man inside and sat down on the couch, “I guess Virgil’s still not ready?”

“I think he might still be asleep.” Virgil’s dad laughed, “I’ll go check on him for you.”

Patton waited and listened as the man walked up the stairs and knocked on Virgil’s door, checking to see if the boy was awake. Patton loved the feeling of being in Virgil’s home, it always felt warm and loving, unlike his own which still felt somewhat tense and cold, even though Roman had already left and his parents were slowly getting better.

A voice called down the stairs, “He’s conscious, but only barely!”

Patton giggled as he distinctly heard Virgil grumbling. He decided to head up the stairs to join his friend’s father.

“Hi Virge!” Patton waved cheerily as he peeked around Virgil’s dad and into the familiar bedroom. Neither had seen Virgil turn such a colour in their lives. It was a mix of extremely pale and bright red. He picked up the pillow from his bed and threw it towards both of them.

“GET OUT!” He screamed, pulling the blankets further over himself.

Virgil’s father simply chuckled, “Okay, son. Be ready soon.” With that, the door to the room was shut and Patton was herded back downstairs.

The two chatted for a little while before Virgil’s dad disappeared into the room he used as his office. Patton, extremely familiar with the home, flicked through TV channels, waiting for the sound of Virgil coming down the stairs.

When the boy did eventually come down, Patton popped up to his feet immediately and greeted the still slightly red-faced Virgil with a hug. Virgil quickly darted into the office and asked his dad if he could drive them to Reggie’s place. Within just a few minutes, their bags had been thrown into the boot of the car, all of them had climbed into the car and they were on their way.

_Dad: Me and Virgil are heading over_

_ThePrincess: Cool. Gate code is 6473_

_Dad: Thanks!_

After grabbing their bags out of the car and waving goodbye to Virgil’s dad, the two boys stood and tried to figure out specifically where they needed to go. Neither of them had ever been anywhere close to entering an apartment complex until today, so they were both a little lost. Patton pulled up the address again on his phone so they would know where they were heading.

“What does it say again?” Virgil asked, looking around at each of the tall buildings nervously.

“Uhmmmm…” Patton scrolled through the messages as quick as he could, “Aha! It says… C328.”

With that, the boys had more of an idea as to where they were going. They made their way to Building C and cautiously entered. Virgil tried his hardest to act natural but couldn’t help feeling like he was in a place he really didn’t belong. This meant he kept his head down for the most part, keeping his eye line just high enough that he could see Patton’s feet ahead of him. Finally, they reached the third floor and found the door.

Patton knocked on the door, turning to Virgil just after with an excited grin. Just as he turned back around, the door opened.

“Welcome.” Reggie stood to one side in order to let the two boys enter the apartment.

Both of them were looking around the space. They stood in what they could only define as the hallway, a clear path that directly led from the front door to the furthest door. The space to their left was open and was clearly the living room. A plush looking couch sat facing them near the back of the space with a pretty large TV sat on top of a long shelving unit that was flush to the wall opposite. To the left of it, there was a large windowed double set of doors that led out to a fairly sparse looking balcony. Patton gasped as he saw it.

“You have a balcony?”

Reggie chuckled, walking past both of them, “Yup. Let me show you guys where things are, you can just throw the bags on the couch for now.”

They did as they were told and watched as Reggie pointed out various doors. The one directly in line with the front door was the bathroom and each of the two either side of the very small square space in front of it led to bedrooms. He stepped into the kitchen to show them where all the plates and cups and everything else were.

“I think that’s everything.” Reggie made his way back to the two boys.

“So, are we the first to show up?” Virgil asked, still feeling a little bit awkward and unsure of himself in the new space.

Just as Reggie was about to reply, one of the bedroom doors opened and Abigal stepped through, her hands full of wires. She made eye contact with the newcomers and seemed a little startled that they were there, but recovered and grinned, “Hello, hello! How are you two?” She made her way across to the TV and settled herself on the floor, wires dropping to her side.

“I’m so excited!” Patton squealed before dropping down next to her on the floor, “So, what are you doing?”

Abigal started to explain to Patton what she was hooking up to the TV, while Virgil turned to Reggie with a questioning look. Reggie laughed for a second before moving closer to Virgil in order to whisper his response to the silent question, “She turned up with breakfast about an hour ago.” He glanced to bag that rested on the table just across from the kitchen.

Virgil nodded understandingly, his curiosity satiated and his theories disproven. Before he could even utter another word, another knock came at the door and Reggie left him to open it. Virgil decided to finally take a seat on the couch, watching Abigal and Patton as they set up the consoles Abigal had brought with her.

Over the course of the next hour, everyone turned up at Reggie’s. Ana and Em turned up with their arms full of snacks they’d made in the days leading up to the Saturday, while Ayana shuffled in behind them with extra snacks they’d purchased. They put everything away in the kitchen, with a little bit of assistance from Virgil and Reggie. Asher and Daniel followed suit with drinks, piling them up in the kitchen, while Thomas was running a little late and ending up helping Sophia bring in the games she’d brought.

It took very little time after everyone had turned up for people to start laying out blankets, cushions, pillows and anything else soft they’d brought with them. The living room floor was absolutely covered in all of it. Blankets of clashing colours and patterns lay spread out across each other, covering the entirety of the floor between the couch and the TV while cushions and pillows lay scattered amongst and around them all. Soft toys rested up against the cabinet that the TV sat upon, all lined up neatly.

No one was really interested in doing any sleepover activities for the first couple of hours, so the whole group took up seats and were mostly just talking. Virgil, Patton, Daniel and Thomas had taken the couch, while everyone else was scattered on the floor. Snacks were brought out once an agreement was made to wait until the evening to order food.

When people expressed interest in doing something, Abigal immediately crawled over to the TV, turning it on along with one the games consoles, “Everyone. Get your phones ready. We’re about to ruin our friendship.”

Without answering any of the questions that were thrown her way after her statement, Abigal grabbed the controller and played with the joysticks impatiently, “Oh yeah, if you guys didn’t already know, most games are technically for 8 players, but everyone else can join the audience and still play and we’ll figure out some rotation or something.” The screen soon lit up and showed the console’s home menu. Abigal was quick to scroll through the games and select Jackbox.

The game’s main menu appeared and Abigal flicked through each of the games, “Which one do we wanna start with?”

“Wait, what are we doing?” Virgil asked, utterly lost.

Abigal turned and crawled back over to her spot. She picked up and presented her phone to everyone, “So, we’re all going to be playing the games on our phones. Each game has a different ruleset and way to win, but it will explain before we start. All of you open up this website…” She quickly typed it in and showed them all. While they were all busy getting to the site, Abigal selected one of the games. “Okay, so now put the code on the screen into the top box where it asks for a room code. Put your name or whatever you want into the bottom box and hit the button and done! Though as I said, most games are 8 players so the first 8 in will be the main players, everyone else will be the audience, you’ll see!”

Everyone was able to grasp the games and the method of playing pretty quickly. They were all beginning to get into it and having a great time with the simple games. Virgil and Em preferred the games that used drawing and were easily winning those, while the games that involved just entering text were a bit more even in terms of winners.

As they all got more and more comfortable with the games, the answers they gave started to ramp up in terms of silliness. Sometimes the answers would be nonsense, but other times they would be calling out another in their group. Multiple times people implied both Patton and Virgil’s crushes, but all of their claims were laughed off as silly jokes, though Virgil had what felt like a mini heart attack each time an answer like that appeared.

They played for hours, only realising once they looked out the windowed doors to the balcony and saw the darkened sky outside. Due to the way the apartment faced, the sun was setting on the opposite side meaning that it seemed later than it was. Asher checked the time and found it was just into the late afternoon.

All of them decided that it was time for a break from the video games. As they all sat and relaxed back into their normal chatter, Sophia hopped up and moved for her bag. She rummaged around inside it for a moment before producing an empty glass bottle, “Who’s ready for Spin the Bottle?” She said with a smirk.


	19. Spin the Bottle

Cheers came from the group of kids sat around the couch. Immediately, a few of them worked to dismantle the soft pile they’d made on the floor, rearranging the cushions and blankets into a circle for everyone to sit in. A few of them also dispersed to get changed into the pyjamas they’d bought along.

Sophia took a spot on the ring of blankets next to the couch. She waited until everyone had settled themselves down before beginning to speak, “So, let’s set up some rules. I’ll think of a number and whoever gets closest spins first and then the next person is the one to the left of the person who got kissed. You can kiss on either lips or cheeks, up to you and the person who is being kissed, or you can get fancy with it. Just has to be a kiss of some sort. Everyone okay with that?”

Nods of agreement passed around the circle, excluding one person.

Virgil had been internally freaking out ever since Sophia pulled out the empty bottle and suggested the game. He’d been so busy worrying about what will happen if he or Patton would land on the other, or what would happen when he landed on anyone in general, that he wasn’t listening to Sophia’s explanation.

“Hey Virgil, you awake in there?”

Virgil was startled back to the real world, “Huh, what?”

“We were just talking about the rules, you have to kiss someone but it can be in any way you want. Also, start thinking of a number.” Sophia shortened her rules into the basics.

“Uh, o-okay…”

After finding out everyone’s numbers, Sophia placed the bottle into the centre of the circle and let Asher spin it. The entire group watched the bottle as it turned and turned. It began to slow down. It passed by Ayana, crawled just past Em to finally land on Ana, who laughed.

Asher leaned in close to Ana, who sat next to him. He looked like he was going in for a proper kiss, but then pressed a gentle peck to Ana’s cheek.

“Aww, aren’t you just the sweetest?” Ana fluttered their eyelashes as Asher moved back to their spot. Asher couldn’t help the amused glint to their eyes at Ana’s comment, but remained silent.

Em realised she was next. Her spin ended up landing on Virgil, who went even paler that usual once he realised that the open end of the bottle was pointed directly at him.

He was still entirely unprepared for all of this, still getting lost in his thoughts and worries as the bottle span so he wasn’t even sure who had spun. When Em approached him, he felt he was able to relax just a tad. Em was one of the people who was most familiar with him and who would not push him too much. Virgil smiled at her a little awkwardly, which made Em giggle. She reached over and held both sides of his face. She tilted his head down a little and pressed her own light kiss to Virgil’s forehead. Virgil definitely felt himself turning a little pink, but he appreciated the gesture.

“There! To quiet those awfully loud thoughts of yours!” Em grinned.

Virgil scoffed and batted her hands away from his head, “They’re not that loud.” He found himself chuckling softly along with Em’s laughter as she returned to her space in the circle.

“Oooo!! My turn?”

Virgil’s blood ran cold once again as Patton leant down over the edge of the couch in order to spin the bottle. He was both hoping it didn’t land on him and that it did, and he really didn’t know which one he actually wanted to win this war. Virgil watched the opening of the bottle intently, seeing it turning around and around, passing by each person at least twice. As it slowed to a halt, Virgil felt his breathing stop for a brief moment.

“Well, get over here.”

The bottle had stopped on Reggie. Virgil let out the breath he was holding, unsure of how he felt about this. He watched as Patton stood and crossed the circle towards Reggie. Seeing Patton obviously going to give Reggie a kiss on the cheek made Virgil feel something that felt oddly similar to relief, but it was short lived.

No one could have foreseen that Reggie would change Patton’s direction at the last second, catching the boy by the lips. None of them were that used to Reggie quite yet, so this seemed to come out of nowhere. It was the briefest kiss anyone had ever witnessed, as Patton pulled back almost immediately. He looked to Abigal in shock, trying to gauge her reaction to what just happened.

The girl in question just rolled her eyes with a smile, while Reggie spoke up, “Sorry, but nothing else will work with me.” He looked pretty proud of himself. That earned him a shove from Abigal

Finally, after getting confirmation that everything was okay, Patton giggled and returned to his spot, “You scared me for a second!”

Reggie laughed, “I’m sorry for that, but I couldn’t let such a cute one get away with just a simple kiss on the cheek now, could I?”

Patton giggled again and blushed. Virgil was beginning to stew in what he could only describe as anger and jealousy. How dare this kid, who seemed to be on the opposite side of both of them, suddenly make his way into this group and just kiss Patton like that? And then also have the fucking nerve to call him _cute_ too? Virgil was so mad but tried not to let it show as Asher offered his next turn to Thomas.

The bottle ended up landing on Ayana. Thomas slipped off the couch and kneeled just in front of the poor girl, who looked like she was about to pass out from fear and nerves. He picked up one of her hands and raised it up, “Is this okay?” He asked, easily giving her an opportunity to back out if she really couldn’t handle it. Ayana nodded fleetingly, and Thomas placed an extremely brief kiss on the back of her hands, “There, not so bad, right?”

Ayana let out a short breath of laughter as she relaxed a little. Thomas could easily tell she was still very nervous and needed her space, but he was happy to have to helped her out just a little. He returned to his space on the couch and looked towards whoever’s turn was next.

“Right, my turn!” Sophia grabbed the bottle and spun it hard. It made several rotations around the circle before even starting to slow, eventually coming to a halt as it pointed towards Abigal. Sophia grinned, “Well, well, well, look who I got!” She taunted, already moving to stand up.

Abigal, who was pretending to not have been watching, rolled her eyes once more and sighed, “Whatever, let’s get this over with.” She took her time getting to her feet. Abigal and Sophia both moved to the centre of the circle, the bottle being kicked to the side. There was a moment where both of them just stared at each other, the tension in the air thickening, “Well, are you gonna do it?” Abigal put her weight to one of her legs, crossing her arms in mock frustration.

Sophia smirked and shrugged, “I don’t know, am I?”

“You’re actually awful, you know that?” Abigal’s words were clearly a tease, if the smile on her face was anything to go by.

“You’ve told me a lot, yeah.”

Abigal sighed again, loudly and forcefully, “God, just get it over with already!”

“Awww,” Sophia mock pouted as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind Abigal’s ear, her hand moving to hold the other girl’s face, “You can just admit you missed kissing me, Abi.”

“No way. Why would I ever miss that?”

Both of them seemed to move in practised motions as their lips finally met. It was still a fairly short kiss but was the longest any of the others had given since the game began. The two girls parted and Abigal immediately span around, heading back to sit in her spot. Sophia was left standing, “Well, fine. I see how it is.” Abigal stuck her tongue out at Sophia, who pointed threateningly, “Watch it. You know what happens when you do that.”

“Uh huh, I’d like to see you try.” As she spoke, Abigal wrapped her arms around Reggie’s, cuddling up to him. She was clearly trying to prove a point with this, but it went over most people’s heads. Sophia merely laughed and headed back for her spot next to the couch.

It was only then that people realised who was up next to spin. Em picked up the bottle and placed it back in the centre so that Reggie could spin it. As the bottle spun, each person it moved past had their own set of thoughts. Some, such as Ayana and Virgil, were praying and hoping with every fibre of their being that it didn’t land on them, while others were definitely more open to the idea but were also a little afraid of what would come their way if it did land on them.

The bottle slowed, passing by several kids at it’s slow pace before coming to a gentle stop.

“Great. Twice in a row. Thank you, all gods up in the heavens. You heard my prayers.” Abigal sarcastically called to the ceiling before turning her body fully towards Reggie, “Do your worst, just make it quick and painless.”

Reggie shook his head and sighed in disappointment. Without saying a word, he rested a finger under her chin in order to get her eyes to meet his. As soon as their gazes met, it was almost as if Abigal was put in some sort of trance, like Reggie had been able to cast a spell on her. It took very little effort and just that single finger under her chin to get her to do most of the work; getting in close, aligning their lips and everything else. Only once she was just a hair away from him did he finally respond to her earlier statement, “It’s almost like you didn’t want this, chaton.”

No time was left for Abigal to respond as Reggie closed the miniscule gap, not that anyone else in the group would have even considered that she would be able to talk in her current state. Abigal may have been easy for Reggie to move before, but now it was the easiest it’d ever been. The couple were clearly not stopping any time soon. As Abigal moved so she was sat in Reggie’s lap, everyone in the circle decided to keep the game going and just skip those two.

Asher was up again, ending up with their second turn landing on Thomas. Thomas turned his head to the side and presented his cheek as Asher approached him, flushing softly as the other student kissed it. All eyes then turned to the next participant - all eyes excluding the two who were still far too wrapped up in their own world.

Daniel timidly reached out and spun the bottle gently. It only turned once or twice around the circle before stopping on Ayana. The two shyest of the group were clearly panicking as their eyes locked from across the circle of kids, as if they both had no idea what to do.

Daniel carefully pushed himself to his feet and headed towards Ayana, clearly trying to think of a plan as he did so. Ayana was sat as still as she had when Thomas approached her earlier, somehow going even paler than that time. The kiss took the longest to occur with Daniel finally deciding to copy Thomas’ kiss and just press it to the back of her hand, which he held in an extremely shaky hand. Daniel almost fled back to his spot once he was done and he kept his head down, trying not to look anyone in the eye.

Everyone was unsure of what to do now. This had clearly left two of their members in a bit of a state. Sophia saw an opportunity to enact a plan.

“Hey Ayana, do you wanna go take a break and get changed? I’ll come with you if you like?” Sophia offered her hand to the trembling girl. Ayana nodded sharply and grasped the outstretched hand, holding it tightly as if it were her only lifeline. Sophia stood and helped the girl to her feet, “Virgil can take my turn while I’m gone. Ayana’s space can count for Em, I guess and mine will count for Virgil, I suppose. Or Pat if Virgil’s spin lands on me. Okay, good, great. See you in a bit!” Sophia rambled quickly and entered one of the bedrooms with hers and Ayana’s bags in hand, leaving no room for discussion on anything she said.

Virgil could feel his panic rising once again. He now had double the chances of his spin landing on Patton and that terrified him as well as excited him. He wanted to kiss his friend, he really did. He wanted to know what it would feel like, if those lips were as soft as they looked, prove that he was better than anyone else here for Patton. But he was also scared that all of this could ruin his friendship.

His thoughts echoed and screamed as he reached off down and spun the bottle. Virgil settled back on the couch, trying hard to not let any of his worry show on his face. Thoughts of Patton being disgusted with him played on repeat, always beginning with Patton saying something else, something that was definitely not Patton-like at all.

The bottle was slowing now. Virgil could hear the sound of it. Time slowed. Virgil’s eyes followed the opening of the bottle as it passed by each of his friends until it came to a very gentle stop.

His blood ran cold. It was pointed directly towards where Sophia had sat just moments ago. Virgil stared at the spot, pure horror dripping through him before he turned at a snail’s pace towards the boy who sat next to him. He finally caught Patton’s eyes and the pair attempted to have a silent conversation about what the heck they were going to do. Virgil’s body refused to move anywhere from its position on the couch, no matter how hard Virgil tried, so he was stuck.

Patton, after almost a full minute of trying to figure out what they were going to do, moved in close to Virgil. He got close enough for their noses to brush against each other before pausing to check if Virgil was okay. Patton playfully pressed the tip of his nose against Virgil’s with a grin, “Boop!”

Virgil finally cracked a smile, letting out a soft laugh. Some of the tension dissipated between them and Virgil’s body was finally able to move.

Both of the boys were seemingly lost in their own world at this point. Their eyes never left the others as they both slowly turned their heads in unison, lining up their lips just right. It felt like the most natural thing in the world for both of them. It felt like a millennium had passed by the time Patton’s lips brushed against Virgil’s.

Something almost sparked in that light connection that had Virgil losing almost all of his thought process. His mind went silent, other than a few very simple thoughts. He took the plunge and pressed his lips against Patton’s. Suddenly, time had no meaning. All Virgil could think about was the new sensations he was experiencing. He now knew that Patton’s lips were as soft as he thought they might be, Patton’s normal heat that he radiated was almost too much now that they were so close, yet Virgil was feeling as though Patton just wasn’t close enough. He almost went to reach out and hold the boy, but he couldn’t get his arms to move.

Then it was all gone. Virgil was now experiencing extreme cold as Patton pulled out of his space. Both of them were still not quiet out of their bubble just yet. Then a voice called from across the circle, popping them both into reality.

“Everything alright over there?”

The boys both blearily looked across the circle towards the voice, scanning each of their friends’ faces in the process. All of them looked extremely amused or smug for some reason and Virgil could feel his face begin to warm at the attention, especially as he started to run the previous experience back in his mind.

“Uh, yeah! Great! Thomas, your turn again!” Patton stuttered a little, clearly caught off guard. This was something that made Virgil calm just a little more. It definitely meant that both of them were just as flustered… right?

The game continued for quite a few more rounds, with everyone taking breaks to grab snacks or change into pyjamas throughout. As people began to lose interest in playing, Em suggested getting food. It took a lot of discussion and an argument or two, but they all finally decided on getting pizza delivered.

The rest of the sleepover was a lot more relaxing, especially for Virgil. While they waited for the pizza to arrive, everyone put the blankets and pillows back into their positions from earlier. People piled up on top of them while Patton pulled out the movies he’d brought over. Seven movies and pizzas later, more than half of the students were ready to get some sleep.

All of the lights were turned off, bar a couple of spotlights under the kitchen cabinets. Each of the kids settled down into spaces across the floor. Some easily fell asleep within seconds of laying down, but others stayed up for a little longer, chatting and giggling about nothing.

A few hours later, Virgil still found himself awake. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to find sleep coming to him. The boy let out a frustrated sigh as he sat himself up. He moved to sit cross-legged and looked around the room.

Laying within arms reach was Patton, the boy who he was always unable to get off his mind. The boy who he’d kissed, had his first kiss with, even. It almost felt impossible for such an event to have happened merely hours ago, but it had, and Virgil still couldn’t get the memory out of his head. A shift of movement caught Virgil’s eye and pulled his attention further away from him. Through the semi-darkness, he could just about make out the figures of Ana and Em laying close to each other, both blissfully asleep. The standout feature of them was that their hands were loosely interlinked between them. Virgil felt a pang in his chest as he thought of how much that reminded him of being back in preschool with Patton. There was that part of him that wanted that right now and he was just about set on going through with it when his eyes travelled just that little bit further to catch the other couple in the room. Abigal was cuddled up close to Reggie, both of their arms surrounding the other loosely in their sleep. Virgil’s mind changed; he wanted that with Patton. It looked so warm, so comforting, so… nice.

Virgil returned to looking down at the boy who was asleep in front of him as he returned to laying back down. Patton looked so extremely at peace in this moment, surely he wouldn’t notice if Virgil did one small thing. Without any more thought, Virgil’s hand acted almost on it’s own and reached over to rest on top of Patton’s own. Patton’s fingers twitched slightly which caused Virgil’s breathing to halt, but he didn’t wake. Instead, the hand under Virgil’s turned so their palms were facing and the fingers lightly slipped between some of the other boy’s. Virgil finally let go of the breath he was holding as a light wave of calm washed over him, coaxing him into shutting his eyes again. Finally, he was able to drift off to sleep.

Something Virgil had not noticed was that not everyone in that room was actually asleep at the time. As he’d lain back down, Sophia’s eyes reopened, and she glanced over in his direction. She moved cautiously, trying not to get caught, as she pushed herself up and looked around at her friends. It may have taken her a while to notice, but she did catch a glimpse of the two boys’ hands interlinked. Sophia grinned and gave herself a pat on the back before trying to get to sleep herself.


	20. Group Project

For weeks after the sleepover, everyone continued to rag on Patton and Virgil for their reactions after the kiss as well as what everyone had found upon waking up that next morning. Patton was managing to laugh it off and play with it a little better than Virgil, who was trying to hide behind his usual sarcasm but found it wasn’t holding up as well as it normally would. Soon, people lost interest and dropped the subject, especially as the pair started to get more and more uncomfortable.

Virgil was unable to forget about it, however. The kiss still played on repeat in his mind and every small interaction with Patton was magnified due to his sudden awareness. He was beginning to notice that Patton leant up against him whenever they were hanging out, he noticed that Patton paid way more attention to him when he compared it to the others, he noticed that Patton would be more likely to touch him and hug him. Virgil tried to reason all of this away as just Patton being his best friend and just ‘always having been like that’ but as more and more positive evidence came up to support his theory, Virgil couldn’t really find anything else to disprove it. He was beginning to think that Patton might have a crush on him as well.

Virgil really didn’t want to get his hopes up, he didn’t want to be wrong and end up heart-broken, so he wanted to be absolutely sure before he even attempted to think of a way to ask out the boy living across the street. The perfect opportunity to find out what others in their group thought came about just after the Christmas break.

In their Art class that they shared, a group project was announced. The teacher decided to split the group up themselves and went around the room, putting people with who they sat next to. Virgil was extremely nervous that he would end up with people he didn’t really know, but the teacher decided to put him in a group with Ana and Em. They all decided to meet up at Em’s place to discuss what they wanted to do for the project.

The three students piled into the back of Em’s parents’ car at the end of school and rode back to their house. Virgil sat in one of the seats by the window, watching as the world passed by and thinking hard about what he wanted to do for this project. The sun finally broke through the cloud layer it had been hiding under all day and Virgil revelled in the warmth that coated his face. His thoughts immediately turned to Patton at this moment; Virgil making the comparison absent-mindedly between the two factors and blushing at the idea. _‘That’s so cheesy and sappy. I hate it.’_ Virgil cringed internally.

After thanking her parents, the three kids made their way into Em’s room. Ana immediately threw their bag down against the bed and fell onto it, while Em put her bag under her desk. She turned to see her partner sprawled out on the bed and sighed, “We need to figure out this project.”

Ana groaned, “But I’m exhausted. We have so much time and we’re all good at this stuff, we could do it in a day.”

“No, we really couldn’t because…?”

“Because it’s not a healthy way to do work because it causes more stress in the long term.” Ana was seemingly repeating what Em had said to them before, clearly disinterested.

Em dug around in her drawers, while Virgil commented, “Yeah, I’d rather not be more stressed and anxious, but I am also pretty tired as well...” He settled himself next to the head of the bed on the floor, leaning his bag up against the wall next to him.

“Right, so what do we wanna do?” Em had produced a notebook and a pen. She held it similarly to a clipboard.

“Sleep.”

Em pouted as both her guests responded at the same time. Ana dropped their hand off the edge of the bed and Virgil hi-fived it half-heartedly.

“Guys, can we at least come up with an idea of what we’re doing?” Em moved to stand above the other two, trying to exercise some power, but found herself being pulled down onto the bed by her partner.

“No, come here and keep me warm instead.” Ana wrapped their arms and legs around their now-giggling partner, effectively trapped her in their grip. Ana held tight even as Em attempted to wriggle free. Neither was going to give up easily and eventually Ana won, Em giving in and simply laying down with them.

Virgil was only mildly paying attention at this point. He’d pulled out his phone as Em had stepped up close to them and was still scrolling through all the posts he’d missed on his dashboard during school when he heard the pair on the bed go silent. He took a quick glance behind him to see them both cuddling. Virgil made an exaggerated gagging noise, “Stop being gross already.”

Ana laughed, but still didn’t let Em go. Instead, they only allowed her to turn around in their hold, ending up with them essentially spooning, “Oh, c’mon Virgil. It’s okay to be jealous.” Ana teased, their grin growing wider as they noticed Virgil’s shoulders tense.

“Why the fuck would I be jealous?” Virgil dropped his phone and turned around, arm resting against the light sheets of the bed.

“I dunno. Why don’t you tell me?”

“I can’t, because I’m not.”

“Uh huh, sure, if you say so.”

“I do say so, and I’m right.”

“Knock it off.” Em lightly elbowed Ana. “Both of you.” She reached over and tapped Virgil on the head.

Virgil pushed the hand away and laughed, “Fine. But I’m not jealous.”

It took another twenty minutes, but Ana did release Em from their hold so that they could at least try and come up with a plan. Em sat down at the end of the bed, legs crossed and notepad in her lap. Ana lounged against the headboard, surrounded by pillows and their legs outstretched so that their feet rested up against Em’s legs. Virgil stayed on the floor but stole one of the pillows to put between him and the metal bedframe that was beginning to dig into him.

“Ughhhhh, okay… what was the project again?”

Em stared at their partner for a few moments, almost disappointed with their lack of attention. She ended up explaining anyway, “We have to come up with a piece of artwork that represents all three of us as one thing, and we have to use at least one technique that we learnt before the Christmas break.”

“But I don’t remember anything we learnt before Christmas! It was so long ago!” Ana complained.

“It was like four weeks ago.” Virgil pointed out, earning him a weak glare from Ana.

Em tapped the pen on the pad to gain their attention once again, “C’mon guys, focus! We just need an idea on what we’re going to do with all this. What could represent all three of us?”

They brainstormed for half an hour but got nowhere. Silence fell upon them all as they thought about ideas. Virgil suddenly had a thought, “What if we did a piece showing like an art studio or something, but we fill it with all the stuff we like using?” Both of his project partners seemed to be mulling over his idea but their silence unnerved him, “So, like, you know I do music stuff so I could put my guitar and book and sheet music and stuff in the thing and you guys like doing painting on canvas or digital stuff, so we could have all that around as well or something… I dunno, it’s just the first thing that came to mind, it’s probably pretty stupid. I’m sure you guys could come up with something better.” Virgil continued to ramble, but Ana eventually cut him off with a loud clap.

“I love it.”

“You do?”

Ana jumped up onto their knees, “Hell fucking yeah! It’s so cool!”

“Oh! We could easily use texturing techniques for the other parts too, we did learn some of those before Christmas!” Em scribbled down notes furiously, trying to get them all down before she forgot any of them.

With their planned work done for the day, all three of them just sat around in Em’s room and hung out. Ana turned around on the bed during a conversation they were having with Virgil and rested their head in Em’s lap, the other girl absent-mindedly playing with her partner’s hair as they lay there. Virgil’s response faltered a little as he suddenly had a question he wanted to ask the couple.

“I just realised… I never asked you guys how you got together. Like… how did you realise you liked each other and stuff?” Virgil tried to be casual about the topic, but he knew that he’d already said too much when he saw his two friends share an amused glance with each other before they answered him.

The couple worked together to tell their story, talking about how they became friends in middle school and quickly realised that there was something there that was more than friendship. Ana proudly shared that they were the one to ask Em out first, just to see if they could be more than friends. They both weren’t able to give Virgil a straight answer for his second question, as they both just knew and had the feeling that it was right.

As they were reaching the end, a voice called up from downstairs, “Emily! Your mother is starting dinner! It’s time for your friends to go!”

Em sighed, looking a little disappointed, and Ana moved to wrap their partner in a hug. Virgil was a little confused but waited until Em had finished shouting down to her dad, “Your dad said friends, right? Do they know about you two?”

“They do, but they seem to not want to address it or something? We can’t quite figure it out…” Ana grimaced at the thought.

Virgil’s face scrunched up in confusion. As he tried to make sense of it all, he pulled out his phone to text his parents to ask for a lift home, “That’s really stupid. Your parents are dicks.”

“No, they’re just… weird about it…” Em muttered, burying her face into Ana’s neck as she hugged them tightly.

It wasn’t too long before Virgil’s dad came by to drive him home. He said his goodbyes to his friends and hopped into the front seat of the car. His dad was making general conversation with him, asking questions about the school day and what he was doing with his friends. Virgil responded as he normally did, but something deep inside was worrying him.

“Hey dad?”

His father made a noise of acknowledgement, cutting his previous sentence short, “What’s up, son?”

Virgil tried to figure out how to word what he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t quite get it right. The longer he took, the more stressed he became. Eventually, he gave up, “It’s nothing. Forget about it.” Virgil turned to stare out the passenger side window, watching the world pass them by.

“Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything you want?”

Virgil was still trying to work out exactly what it was that was eating at him. It was frustrating him a lot, he just wanted to know. It was wearing down his patience with himself and everything else. He shrugged, “Yeah, I know. It’s nothing, it’s fine.”

There was a long stretch of silence that was only broken by the sound of the road and the quiet voice of the radio between them. Virgil felt as though he was being scrutinised the whole time and it was not helping his already agitated state. When his dad said his name softly, what little was left of Virgil’s patience snapped.

“I’m fine, dad.” He turned sharply to look at his dad, raising his voice. He felt a torrent of words coming and he didn’t have the sense to keep them to himself at this moment. Virgil rambled the whole drive home about how he didn’t understand what he was feeling, how he felt weird and awkward about Ana and Em’s situation and how he was unnaturally worried about that being something for him in the future or whatever. Virgil even expanded to the fact he wasn’t sure about his friend and his crush and how all of that was another stress and worry on top of everything that normally stressed him out. Virgil wasn’t finished as they pulled into the driveway of their home, instead he just continued.

His father listened without interrupting the whole time. Once his son was finished and was panting from the effort he’d expended into ranting about everything, he turned to Virgil with a gentle smile, “I’m proud of you for telling me all that, Virge.”

“What?”

“It took a lot for you to share all of that. To me, it looks like this has been going on for a few months and you’ve kept it to yourself for all that time.”

Virgil shifted in his seat, a little uncomfortable at being read in such a way. He muttered a few words under his breath, but he couldn’t really deny what his dad had said.

“But I can tell you this, for sure. Everything will find a way to work out in the end. You’ll figure out your friend’s and your feelings, and everything will be fine. Also, don’t worry about us, son. You know we’ll take any opportunity to embarrass you.” His father ruffled his hair jokingly.

Virgil swiped at his dad’s arm, trying to push him away, “Yeah, because you’re the worst.” Virgil couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he looked up at his dad, “Thanks, dad.”

“It’s no problem, son. Now, lets get inside before your mother comes out and tried to drag us in.”

Both Mortensons climbed out of the car and headed for the front door. As his dad fumbled with his keys in order to find the house key, he asked Virgil a question.

“So, who is this friend that you’re worried about?”

Virgil panicked, his face turning a pink, “Uh, it’s nothing, no one, its whatever.”

The young boy watched as his father turned to him with a knowing look, “It’s okay, son. Your mother and I aren’t as dumb as we look. We know about you and Patton.”

Virgil felt his entire body tense. He stood entirely still as his dad finally opened the front door, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re crazy.” Virgil pushed his way in the house and headed immediately up the stairs.

From behind, he heard his father call out to him, “Dinner will be soon! Don’t get too lost in your daydreams!”

“DAD! WHAT THE FUCK?!”


	21. Daydreaming

Patton loved the feeling of the sun on his face and the grass underneath him. He loved the way the breeze felt as it rustled the bushes and the trees, making the blades of grass tickle his bare legs and his flowing skirt flutter slightly. He loved the feeling of the arm around him, holding him close and secure up against another body. He loved being able to look up and see the soft expression of the boy he was sat with on this beautiful summer day, just relaxing without a care in the world. He loved that he could reach up and hold the boy’s face, smudging the makeup under his eyes more as his thumb ran over it. He could see that the boy’s lips were moving, almost as if he was saying something, but Patton couldn’t hear it.

“What?” He tried to listen hard. He saw the boy’s lips move again in the same pattern with a slight echo of a noise that sounded maybe like his name?

Patton listened again, leaning up closer to the boy’s mouth. Suddenly, a voice rang through clear.

“Mr Ashworth!”

Patton was jolted back into reality. He looked around the classroom that was still full of students, the teacher looking at him, clearly disappointed.

“Nice of you to re-join us, Mr Ashworth. Don’t let your family’s habit of daydreaming become the norm.” The teacher scolded him before turning back to the board to continue the lesson.

A wave of nausea rolled over Patton as he was compared to his brother. He kept his head down for the rest of the lesson, focusing on taking notes so the teacher wouldn’t call on him again. When the bell rang for the beginning of lunch, Patton took his time gathering up his things. As he reached down for his bag, a pair of legs entered his vision and Patton looked up to see Daniel.

“Hey Patton.”

Patton put on a bright, cheery smile, “Hi Daniel! I’m almost ready!” Patton popped up out of his seat and began shoving his books into his bag. He felt better just having a friend with him. It was a grounding realisation that he had true friends that cared for him. He was throwing the bag over his shoulder and heading towards the door when Daniel spoke again.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m totally fine! Really good!”

Daniel slowed a little, looking unsure, “Are you sure? You seemed a little… unhappy, earlier? Daydreaming that hard isn’t usual for you…”

Patton’s smile faltered a little, “O-oh. Really, I’m okay. I kinda just don’t like being compared to my brother, y’know?” He let out a short laugh, trying to keep the mood light.

“I’m sorry…” Daniel muttered, eyes trained on the floor, “I shouldn’t have asked…”

Patton engulfed his friend in a loose hug and gave him a grateful smile, “I’m happy you were worried about me, I promise. Don’t feel bad for asking!”

Daniel shrank back into himself a little but returned the smile anyway. They took a couple of detours around the school to pass by both of their lockers. They stopped first at Daniel’s.

“What were you daydreaming about?” Daniel asked quietly as he swapped out books and grabbed his lunch.

“Nothing really!” Patton’s cheeks darkened in colour just a little as he thought back to the daydream. It was a really nice one, one he really did want to happen, but he didn’t know if he should tell anyone about it yet.

Patton had realised well before the sleepover that he was obviously in love with Virgil and had been for some time, but he wasn’t exactly sure if Virgil felt the same way. Yes, his best friend allowed Patton to lean up against him and hug him and had kissed him, but that was all what they normally did or put upon them by some game. But he did really feel like he was about to explode with all of the feelings and emotions he had, maybe he should tell someone…?

Daniel shut the door to his locker and began heading in the direction of Patton’s, “It had to be something you were really into… but it’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about it or whatever…”

Patton jogged alongside, catching up as he’d been lost in his thoughts, “I mean, do you promise to not tell about it?” Patton waited for Daniel’s nod before launching into a whole explanation of how he’d realised he was in love with Virgil and how he wasn’t sure about if Virgil liked him or not, going into the daydream and everything he’d been keeping to himself for months now.

Daniel waited patiently as Patton’s rambles died down. He was trying to keep the smile off his face but couldn’t help laughing as Patton closed his locker door after grabbing what he needed.

“What’s so funny?” Patton asked, pouting.

“It’s just… we all know, Patton.”

“What?!”

Daniel, once again, led the way out to the courtyard and over to their usual spot for lunch, “Everyone’s known for a while, about the crush thing.” He continued to laugh softly as Patton stared at him indignantly, the boy’s mouth opening and closing as if he were some kind of fish.

“So, waitwaitwait, people know about me, right?” Patton ran in front of Daniel and began walking backwards in order to look at his friend, somehow avoiding all of the students around him as he did so, “Does that mean they know if Virgil likes me?!” Patton’s eyes lit up with hope.

Daniel shrugged and removed his gaze from Patton’s, “I dunno… I don’t wanna say yeah and then disappoint you later…” They were getting close to their spot and a flash of pink that appeared in the corner of his eye gave Daniel an idea, “You could always ask Abi or one of the others? They’d probably know more…”

“You’re a genius!” Patton practically skipped, still moving backwards. He spun around at just the right time to be right by his friends and greeted them with a beaming smile. Both Patton and Daniel left their conversation and the topic for the entirety of the lunch period, as Virgil was sat right there and neither of them really wanted to get him that involved just yet. Patton wanted to make sure he was sure in Virgil’s feelings before bringing up the topic to him, while Daniel simply wanted to not cause any problems.

However, this did mean that Patton just didn’t have a chance to bring up the idea with any of his friends. Even after school, he wandered the halls to see if he could find any of his other friends, but they all seemed to have just disappeared into thin air. He spent half an hour searching for them but gave up once he realised the waves of students leaving the school were thinning by a significant margin.

He thought about it as he made his way home and managed to come up with the perfect solution. “I’ll just call Abi!” Patton didn’t even wait until he got home. He pulled his phone out of his bag and hit Abigal’s contact number. The phone rang a few times before the call was picked up.

“Patton! Hey!” Abigal’s cheery voice rang clear through his phone making Patton smile.

“Hi! I wanted to ask you about something?”

“Of course! Ask away! I’m not busy!”

Patton explained everything that had happened, starting from the daydream in class and ending with what Daniel had said moments before the two had arrived at lunch.

“So, yeah, he said to ask someone else because he wasn’t sure.” Patton finished as he walked up the pathway to the front door of his house. He unlocked it and entered, calling out a greeting to his mum before heading straight up to his room.

On the other end of the phone, Patton could hear Abigal scoffing and spluttering as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He could almost picture the look of confusion on her face, “Uh… what the heck? You two are so freaking into each other even fucking aliens that had never even heard of the concept of love could come down to Earth, take one look at the two of you together and still understand that you two are so crushing on each other.”

“Are you sure? Like really _really_ sure?” Patton asked, trying really hard to not get his hopes up too much. He’d thrown his bag down on his desk chair and curled up on his bed as he listened, stroking one of his plushes that he’d put into his lap.

“Dude. I’m 100 percent fucking sure! You two literally have hearts on your eyes whenever you look at each other, I swear.” There was a soft meowing from Abigal’s end which was the only noise that broke the silence as Patton let all of that sink in. He took long enough that Abigal was clearly a little worried, “Patton? You still with me?”

“Uh, um, yeah, I am. Sorry. I just… I can’t believe it…” Patton looked to the window out of his room. From the angle his bed was at, he couldn’t see the house across the street, but he didn’t have to see it to picture it.

“Well, you’d better start believing because it’s the truth.”

Patton continued to stroke the soft material of the plush. He played with the long ears and dark hair-like fur before cuddling it tightly, “What should I do next?”

Abigal made a non-committal noise on the other end, “What do you want to do?”

“I think…” Patton considered, turning the grey donkey in his lap. He smiled as it reminded him of his best friend and what he truly did want, “I think I want to try and ask him out?”

Patton jumped as he heard Abigal’s voice shout down the phone to him, accompanied by the shriek of a startled cat, “Oh my god, finally! Okay, how do you want to do it?! When? Where? Have you already thought about it?”

The young boy managed to cut her off before she got lost in her questioning, “Woah, I don’t know! I-I haven’t really thought about it, no.”

“Pat! You need to think about how to do it! It has to be perfect!”

Patton thought to bring up how her current relationship had come about, but he decided it wasn’t really worth it, “I do want it to be really special, because he’s so important to me. I just don’t really know what I should do for it.”

“Patton. I think I know what we need.”

He really didn’t like the sound of that. “Abi…” Patton’s voice was wary. His gaze tilted towards the phone that was up against his ear, “What ar-?”

“Clear your weekend schedule because we’re having a brainstorming session with the brightest fucking minds I know!”

With that, the call ended. Patton was still sat on his bed in shock, hand having paused halfway down the plush that still rested in his lap. He slowly lowered the phone and stared at the screen, trying to process what his friend had just said to him. He would have been lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit scared of what Abigal had in store for him, but when a message in a new group chat popped up on his screen, Patton couldn’t help the fond smile that crossed his face.

He was truly so lucky to have such amazing friends that wanted to help him so much. He just hoped that they would be able to keep this a secret, at least for a little while longer.


	22. Brainstorming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a while with this chapter! 
> 
> I am a huge Kingdom Hearts fan so I took time away to play KH3 until I finished it, and then I was stuck on this chapter for a bit too, but we're here now!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!!

“Right!”

Patton jumped at the loud snap-like noise. He was a little confused as to how he’d managed to find himself squished between Asher and Reggie on Reggie’s sofa, along with Daniel and Thomas on the other sides of the two he was between while Sophia - smartly - sat on the floor in front of him, resting against his legs. He had almost no recollection of the events that had transpired since he’d been on the phone with Abigal, except the lingering feeling of dread that hung at the bottom of his stomach whenever he thought back to it.

But he didn’t have time to think about that right now. Abigal was standing in front of all of them with an extendable pointer stick, portable projector screen set up behind her and the projector whirring away on the shelf behind the rest of them. To the other side of her was a large wheeled whiteboard, one of the ones you could flip over for more space. She was looking exaggeratedly serious, the end of the pointer resting on the whiteboard. That cleared up Patton’s first question of where the hell that loud snapping noise come from.

“We’re all aware of why we’re here, correct?”

Everyone gave her various indications that they had little to no idea what she was talking about.

Abigal sighed dramatically and dropped her serious façade, “Are you all serious right now? Really?” She searched each of their faces but ultimately realised she’d have to explain, “We’re all here to figure out the best way for Patton to realise that he and Virgil are perfect for each other and how he can ask him out and when he should do it.”

“What?!” Patton squeaked.

“Patton. I told you about this. When we were on the phone. Keep up.”

Patton could feel himself getting flustered. Yes, he did remember Abigal saying they were going to have a brainstorming session, but he didn’t think it would be nearly this big… or have this many people involved.

Thomas put his hand up and Abigal pointed the stick in his direction, indicating he could speak, “What is the projector for, if we’re all brainstorming ideas?”

Abigal laughed haughtily, “Oh, sweet Thomas. Sweet, naïve little Thomas… You think I don’t already have some fantastic ideas that I’m going to share with you all?”

Everyone’s faces contorted into some form of horror or disbelief at her statement, all eyes watching her carefully as she moved behind them all to start up the presentation she’d worked on.

It felt like hours could have passed in the time it took Abigal to finish her ideas. There weren’t many and she definitely communicated them well in picture format in her presentation, but there was much to be desired in her verbal communication.

She naturally was a fast speaker, Patton had realised this long ago, but he’d never had a problem with it until today. He couldn’t keep up with her rambles about each of her ideas, especially as she was getting into the finest of details. It was just too much, too quick. Patton also began to notice that her habit of wildly veering off topic, which he would usually find endearing, was not suited for a presentation like this. Along with her fast pace, the twisting through many topics just confused Patton even more. Eventually, he semi-gave up listening to her and focused on what she had on the projector. Her notes and plans were detailed wonderfully on the screen and Patton appreciated it very much.

When it seemed she was never going to finish and at least an hour had actually passed, Patton felt the body to his left move off of the sofa. He watched as Reggie crossed the short gap over to Abigal.

“Excuse me! Please remain seated until the en- mmpfh!”

There was an immediate sense of relief as Abigal’s voice was cut off by Reggie kissing her. She immediately seemed to lose track of whatever she was doing as she didn’t push him off, instead she seemed to melt in Reggie’s arms that had come to hold her. Patton could feel how tense he’d clearly gotten as his muscles began to finally relax. He looked around at the rest of his friends, sharing looks and smiles with them all.

Sophia was the first to get tired of the couple in front of them, “Okay lovebirds, this isn’t how I wanted to spend my weekend. Let’s get to brainstorming.”

A few pouts and giggles later, Abigal moved the whiteboard in front of the projector screen. She flipped the board over to show that she’d already written her ideas down on that side, but had left a large space for the others to fill, “Right, so, what ideas do everyone else have?”

It began with more simple ideas than what Abigal had proposed in her presentation; things like using cliché romantic gestures like flowers or chocolates, writing a letter or something similar. All of the ones they agreed upon were added to the list, but several were dropped quickly - most of them being Reggie ideas that ranged from exceptionally stupid to borderline illegal.

“No way! A flash mob is an awful idea!” Patton stared incredulously at Reggie, practically in shock that he’d even suggest such a thing, “Firstly, it would give Virgil the biggest panic attack because he’d be the centre of attention!”

Reggie merely shrugged, “Okay, fine. Get the clowns to-”

Patton almost screeched, “NO!”

“Régis.” Abigal’s voice crossed through the madness, silencing the room as she glared across at her boyfriend, “Enough.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped back to Reggie. For the first time any of them could recall, the boy looked extremely shocked and unable to conjure up any retort. He gaped for a second, but then noticed all the eyes on him and attempted to compose himself again.

“How about…,” Asher broke through the now awkward tension of the room, “we ask Patton what Virgil likes?”

As everyone seemed to register what a good idea that would be, Asher turned and shared a gentle smile with Daniel. Patton could only assume it was Daniel’s idea but, as usual, he was a little too scared to speak his mind.

“Well… Virgil likes art a lot and music…” Patton began to list off things Virgil liked, ranging from his hobbies to things relating to his aesthetic and style. While he listed verbally, Abigal had turned and began scrawling down all the things on the opposite side of the whiteboard. By the time he’d finished everything he wanted to say, Patton could see that half of the board was now full of scribbles. “So… what now?”

“I guess we have to find something that can link what you want to do with what Virgil likes?” Thomas offered, reading over the list in front of them all.

More time passed as everyone tried their hardest to come up with an idea.

“What about working with his family and covering his room in post-in notes?” Abigal said, her eyes focused on the ceiling as she spoke.

Patton hummed in thought. He looked back towards his friend who had moved from standing next to the board to laying on the couch, resting against her boyfriend, “Well, why post-it notes?”

Abigal shrugged, “I dunno… something that can be kept or documented or something? Each one has something cute on it that you like about him, have one that’s a different colour that asks him out?”

“Awww… that’s so cute! But…”

Abigal groaned, “There’s always a but…”

“Virgil doesn’t like change and his stuff being different, it makes him really anxious, so that’s probably not a good idea…” Patton nibbled on the tip of his thumb as he thought, an apologetic look being sent to his friend.

Everyone around was either deep in thought or seemingly exhausted. Patton looked over all of his friends, before locking eyes with Reggie who seemed to be the only one truly awake. There was a silent plea for him to help which he easily responded to.

Reggie moved Abigal off of him, stood and then pulled her up off of the sofa, “We’ll go make lunch. Everyone okay with that?” There was a round of agreement before the pair wandered over into the kitchen.

This left Sophia, Asher, Thomas and Daniel left to come up with ideas. They all offered ideas that varied wildly, but each one Patton was able to shoot down because of something or another. Things like using a skywriter were more to do with the lack of funds and knowledge of how to organise such a thing, while other ideas were shot down due to Virgil’s high levels of anxiety and what would trigger him the most.

One of Sophia’s more reasonable ideas included getting people at school to help out with a scavenger hunt, but Daniel piped up before Patton had to.

“Uh, I don’t want to interrupt, but… that doesn’t sound like a good idea…” Daniel shuffled on the spot, “I mean, Patton had said that Virgil gets really anxious about a lot of things… and I see that he’d been anxious about talking with people… so that probably wouldn’t work?”

Patton quickly agreed, “Yeah, Virgil wouldn’t like that at all. Plus, he doesn’t really know a lot of people besides us.”

As the time wore on, Sophia was getting more and more frustrated with the constant excuses.

“Maybe you could write him something? A song?” Sophia offered testily from her spot laying on the floor.

Patton turned to her from where he stood in front of the board and frowned, “No… I don’t know how to do that, and I can’t play any instruments or anything…”

“Well, I’m out.” Sophia closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She began to mutter something to herself, but no one could make out what it was, and they weren’t exactly all that interested in figuring it out.

Daniel, who’d taken up the mantle of the new scribe, crossed off several of the notes written on the list. Patton’s frown deepened as he saw how little left they really had to go off of.

“Why is this so difficult?” Patton said to no one in particular.

“Probably because you’re making this way more complex than it has to be?” Asher offered helpfully, sounding exasperated. Patton looked back to them, his head tilting like a confused puppy, which prompted them to continue, “You can just, y’know… ask him out? Without all the fancy shit.”

Everything went silent. All noise dissipated as everyone in the room considered Sophia’s words, even the pair working in the kitchen had stopped. A few moments pass before a noise comes from the kitchen.

“Huh… never thought about that…”

Patton was almost sure if Sophia could have, her eyes would have rolled right out of her head, “Of course you never have, Reggie. You’re the most extra fucking person we know.”

“Taking that as a compliment!” Reggie threw back in an attempt at a sing-song voice.

“Of course you would!” Sophia mocked his tone with her response.

Patton was still thinking over what she’d said. He could just ask Virgil out, but was that what he wanted to do? It didn’t feel special, but then… maybe that’s what could make it even more special? He turned and looked at the board with all their ideas scribbled across it, raking his eyes across all the work they’d put in.

Then something clicked. He didn’t know what sparked it but Patton suddenly had a vivid memory of sitting with his brother a few years back, the year before Patton had started high school. They were sat on his brother’s bed, flicking through some books together. There were some beautiful flowers sat on the desk and Patton had asked about them, moving to get a better look at them. Roman had immediately stopped him but explained what they were. He then went on to ask if Patton knew about the language of flowers.

“No, what’s that?” Patton had asked, staring at the beautiful dark blue flowers that sat on the desk.

“It’s exactly what you think it might be.” Roman had laughed, teasing without making Patton feel bad, “Each flower has a meaning and when you put them together in a bouquet, you can say a lot of things.”

Patton’s eyes had sparkled, “That’s so pretty! What do those flowers mean?”

Roman had avoided the question expertly, Patton now realised as he thought back on the situation. He’d never found out what those flowers meant, but it didn’t exactly matter right now.

The boy was almost jolted back to the present and his idea was formulated so perfectly in his mind.

“ASHER!” He spun and pointed to his friend, causing them to jump. Patton sheepishly apologised, “Sorry, I just had an idea and I’m excited. Anyway! You know flowers really well, right?!”

“Yeah…?”

“Can you teach me?! I wanna use it!”

Asher glanced between Patton and the board. They tapped just under where Daniel had crossed out ‘Flowers’, “Uh, Patton? We already gave up on that one.”

“Yeah, you said Virgil wouldn’t like the idea of having to keep flowers and that he’d get upset if they died or be too stressed about keeping them alive.” Daniel said quietly from the side of the board.

Patton simply grinned, “Oh, I don’t want to get him actual flowers! I just want to use the language of it!”

Everyone in the room simply looked at Patton in various states of confusion, but before they could even ask what he meant or what his plan was, Reggie and Abigal entered with plates of food. They decided to all take a break to have lunch, letting them all rest their brains for a bit.

Patton couldn’t relax, his brain was churning with how he was going to use everything Asher could teach him. He could do so many things that he knew Virgil would like, and it would be a permanent message for his best friend to keep. If it all went badly, he just wouldn’t let the boy know that the flowers meant something specific. It was going to be perfect, no matter how long it took.


	23. Music Lesson

Virgil was completely unaware as to what had occurred over the weekend with Patton and a bunch of their friends, but he could get the feeling something was just a little bit off or was different.

It was almost as if he could feel each of them watching his and Patton’s every move, trying to catch them as they were talking alone. At least twice on that first Monday, Virgil had rounded a corner to catch Abigal peeking around it. She managed to laugh it off and come up with some sort of excuse, but Virgil could see past it easily.

He was definitely a little suspicious and more than a little unnerved by this all. He approached Ana about it, but they had no idea what was going on and hadn’t really noticed any difference, so Virgil started to doubt himself just a little.

This behaviour continued for weeks with Virgil getting more and more paranoid as the days wore on. Thankfully, he had his space to escape to twice a week with his music lessons.

Virgil pushed open the sound-proof door and immediately felt a sense of relief wash over him. No one would come and spy on him here, none of them would be staring at him and noting down his every move. He could truly relax.

He was a little early, having headed straight there once school had ended, so he set himself down with his guitar and just started to ensure his instrument was tuned properly.

Virgil adored his guitar. If someone were to ask him what he would save if his entire house caught on fire, he would likely reply with his guitar. It was something he was good at, something that he could do to get his mind off everything else in the world, it was something he was in control of. He practiced and cleaned it every day. It was necessary since it was a black guitar, meaning that even the smallest speck of dust or fingerprint would show up, but he loved so dearly that he was happy to simply hold it in his hands.

After checking everything, Virgil leant the instrument against the piano that sat in the room and dug around in his bag for the tattered notebook he still used. He found it and carefully set it up on the music stand of the piano, opening it to a page full of scribbles and doodles. After double checking the notebook was secure, Virgil picked up the guitar once more and began to play.

He easily got lost in the sound. This song had been years in the making. Sure, some of the lyrics didn’t work anymore but they did at the time he wrote them, and he really liked the way they sounded. He was finding it was almost finished, but he was just stuck on small details. A few notes stuck out to him and he wanted to change it, some of the words didn’t flow as well as he liked, but he was getting there.

Virgil didn’t even notice that he’d begun to sing the words under his breath as he practiced and played with the music. He took a pause to dig around in his bag for a pencil in order to change something in his book.

“That was adorable, Virgil.”

Virgil almost screamed as he jumped violently, his body flinging onto the floor as he toppled off the stool in an attempt to turn around and sit up at the same time.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” The voice squeaked, fear lacing every word, “I-I’ll just, just go.”

“No, it’s… it’s okay. You just surprised me.” Virgil was winded from his fall, but he still reassured the person standing in the doorway.

They looked at him cautiously, “Are you sure?”

“Ayana, it’s cool. Just, warn a guy next time? You’re so quiet.” Virgil laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Ayana closed the door carefully, “Sorry…”

Virgil clambered up to sit back on the stool, checking over his guitar that had fallen in the chaos, “Ayana, apologies?”

“I know…” The girl ducked her head, her long hair falling around her like a curtain, shielding her from the world, “I don’t need to say sorry so much…”

They shared a gentle smile as Ayana seated herself on the piano stool, pulling out her own guitar. She was checking it was tuned properly when her eyes caught the notebook that still sat open on the piano. As nervous as she was, Ayana felt comfortable enough with Virgil to lean in and get a closer look. She only read a couple of the lines before she realised this was the song she’d walked in on Virgil playing.

“So… what’s this song for?” She asked, her curiosity not yet satiated.

Virgil quickly but carefully grabbed his notebook and put to his side, his cheeks turning redder with each passing second, “It’s nothing, just something I’m messing around with.”

Ayana flinched at his sudden movement, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry… It’s just… it was beautiful…” She looked up through her hair again, “It sounded like you were addressing someone…”

Virgil looked away and scoffed, face burning brightly even through his usual layer of foundation, “Uh, why would I do that?”

Ayana shrugged and made a soft non-committal noise, turning her attention back to her own guitar, “Maybe you have someone you care about… and you want to tell them… and the best way, you feel, is through music…” She strummed a few notes, her body visibly relaxing. She continued on to play a song.

Virgil watched her through the corner of his eye for a moment, before turning to fully look at the girl. He’d noticed over the years that they’d shared music lessons that Ayana became a totally different person when she played music; she became confident, at ease, relaxed, and it inspired Virgil - not that he’d say it aloud. He understood her, music made him feel entirely different. The only way Virgil could describe it is that he felt like he lived in a different world when he played any instrument, but Ayana was the one to truly show him what that looked like to the outside world. He wanted to show that to people, show people the power that music could have and what it can do to a person, how it can help those struggling the most.

A sudden snap and off-key note snapped both of the students out of their music-induced haze. They stared at the now broken guitar string in surprise. Ayana turned into a statue, looking at the broken string like it was about to attack her and she had nowhere to go.

“Ayana? Are you alright?” Virgil asked gently, trying to catch her eyes once he’d noticed she wasn’t doing so well.

Her voice sounded a little watery, “My brother’s going to kill me. Oh my god. Oh my god, I’m so dead.” Ayana started to ramble, just repeated over and over how she was doomed, how upset her brother was going to be, all the bad things that were going to happen to her. Tears began spilling down her face, splashing onto the polished wood of the guitar and her legging-covered legs.

Virgil wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. He was only now able to handle his own panic attacks, but he’d never tried to help anyone else. He knew he had to try, especially as Ayana’s body began to shudder and rock back and forth. Virgil knelt down in front of her, gently placing a hand on her knee before walking her slowly through some calming exercises he’d been taught by his therapist.

Once she’d calmed enough to stop repeating and was breathing properly, Virgil reached into his guitar cover, “You know, if you need to replace it, I have spares.” Virgil held up the small ring of guitar strings that he’d fished out from the front pocket.

Ayana looked at him as though he were an angel sent down to save her in this exact moment. She let him take the guitar from her grip and he got to work replacing the broken string. She watched over his shoulder as he went about restringing the instrument, “Are you sure it’s okay? I don’t want to take your things…”

Virgil breathed out a laugh, “It’s fine, honestly. I offered and you were completely out of it and upset. There’s no way I’m letting you leave being so freaked out.” Behind him, he could just about make out Ayana’s soft ‘thank you’. It took very little time before the instrument was back in Ayana’s hands, “There, as if nothing ever happened.”

The boy moved to sit back up in the stool, his eyes catching on his beaten-up notebook. He glanced between Ayana and his book, thinking hard. Did he want to involve her? He knew she wouldn’t tell on him or spread it around and he could use a second opinion… especially considering…

“Hey, Ayana?”

The girl lifted her head. She was in the middle of retuning the guitar and Virgil felt a little guilty interrupting her.

“Can… you help me?”

The shy girl looked at him in surprise. “Me? Are you sure?” At Virgil’s nod, she put the guitar down, resting it up against the other side of the piano, “I, I can try… What is it?”

Virgil moved his stool closer to Ayana’s and flicked open his notebook to that page he had open when she’d walked in, “First, you have to promise to not tell anyone about this, okay?”

Ayana nodded and held out her hand, pinkie finger extended. Virgil couldn’t help but grin at her playfulness. He linked his finger around hers and they shook on it.

“Okay, so… this song,” He held the double page open between them, “It is for someone… It’s, kinda… for Patton…”

Ayana made a soft squeal-like noise, “That makes it even more precious…”

Virgil ignored her, “And, I’m kinda just… stuck, y’know. Some of these words don’t work, and some of the notes just… feel… wrong. And I don’t know how to end it… Do you think you could help?”

“Can I…?” The younger girl asked, indicating she wanted to hold the notebook. Virgil released it to her, watching every moment she took intensely. He appreciated that she was so careful with it, as if she might cause it to dissolve by handling it too much. He watched as she pulled her hair away from her face to read the book she’d placed across her lap. There was a fairly long nervous silence as Virgil waited for her to speak again.

“Can I hear it again? Is that okay, Virgil?” Ayana asked suddenly. She followed it up almost immediately with, “It’s completely fine if you don’t want to. I just think, it would be easier to hear it, see how it plays, how you play it, all that. But it’s fine, really, you don’t have to. I was just wondering!”

Virgil laughed again, used to her sudden nervous outbursts. He picked up his guitar and positioned himself comfortably, “It’s cool, I don’t mind playing. I did ask you to help.”

He took a steading breath to calm the nerves that were buzzing around inside him. This would be the first time anyone but himself had heard this song, he never practised it out loud when his parents were home for fear of them asking questions or talking about it to Patton. But this was his chance, and he knew he shouldn’t waste it.

So, he began to play. He played the song just as he’d written it, all the bits he wasn’t a huge fan of and all the bits he loved. He felt himself getting lost into the music once again, but this time he wasn’t alone. Virgil knew Ayana was there with him. Part way through, he glanced up and saw her sat in front of him with her eyes closed, moving in time with his playing. Virgil found it endearing and continued.

The song ended abruptly. Virgil lay his hand down on the strings, quieting them. He raised his other hand to scratch at the back of his neck, “So, yeah… you can see that it’s, kinda unfinished…”

Ayana’s eyes now shone as she looked at him, “He’ll love whatever you do for him, you know that, don’t you?”

Virgil blushed and ducked his head, fiddling with the strings a little, “I mean, I guess… but I want to, make it perfect. It has to be perfect.”

Ayana simply smiled and began to try her hardest at helping Virgil with his song. It wasn’t the perfect way to go about this, considering both of them were anxious messes who didn’t want the other to think they hated their ideas and were struck with paranoia with every attempt at constructive criticism, but they found a rhythm eventually. They worked on fixing what Virgil felt was wrong, starting with the lyrics. Ayana seemed to have a natural talent for working with lyrics and words, which surprised Virgil, but he greatly appreciated it in this moment.

Both students seemed to forget they were meant to be having a formal music lesson at this time and were entirely lost in their creative process. The teacher watched and listened through a crack in the door, a pleased smile on their face. Something about this was wonderful to them, their two best students working on their own project together, without the need of their help. The door was shut quietly, and the teacher returned to their office a little way down the hall, letting the pair continue their work.

It was only once their session time was over that the teacher returned to the room. They still found the two working on their song, but this time they needed to interrupt. As they stepped into the room, the door was left to click shut on its own. The sound caused both students to jump and turn to stare at their teacher.

“I’m sorry you two, but it’s time to head home. Sorry I didn’t come today, I was swamped with just so much work.” The teacher lied, trying to quell the worry they saw on the two students’ faces. “But I see that you two found something to work on today, which I am very proud of. I hope you’ll be willing to show me?”

Both of the kids shared a nervous look. Virgil looked away first and nodded, settling back into the most comfortable position for him to play. The teacher rested against the wall next to the door and watched their student.

The song lasted for a couple of minutes, but Virgil was feeling his nerves throughout the entire thing. This was entirely different from playing it to Ayana; she was a friend that he knew really well, someone he trusted a lot. His music teacher was different. Yes, he’d known them for longer and yes, Virgil definitely trusted the adult, but he still wasn’t completely free emotionally to the teacher.

But he played his song, he played it as best he could through the nerves. He found them fading as he worked through it, finding his confidence with each passing strum and word. By the end of the song, Virgil had almost forgotten he was playing to his teacher. Almost.

There was a beat of silence once he’d finished where he looked up to the teacher through his hair, awaiting critique. Instead, Virgil got a smile and a light applause.

“That was beautiful, Virgil. Did you two make that up right now?”

Virgil shook his head, “N-no… I’ve been, sorta… working on it, for a while, and stuff. I just, uh… I asked Ayana to help, because I was stuck…”

“Well, you two did a wonderful job. I’m sure whoever you’re going to play this for is going to be pleasantly surprised.”

Virgil’s head snapped up and his eyes widened in fear. His face burned brightly again, “W-what! Who said it was for anyone?!”

His teacher laughed, “Virgil. Teachers pay attention. I’ve seen you and your friends around, I’ve seen you with Mr Ashworth. I promise, I have not told a soul and I promise to never tell a soul about this.”

Virgil was speechless. People knew?! Teachers knew?! What the hell! He turned to Ayana, looking at her wildly as if he expected her to debunk that people were able to see his crush but she just avoided his gaze. “Ayana…?” His voice was quiet and dangerous.

“I’m sorry!” She squeaked, ginger hair coming to fall around her yet again.

Virgil groaned, his head falling into his hands. “Everyone knows… don’t they?”

Ayana made a noise that confirmed his theory and Virgil just about died then and there. There was a hand on his shoulder that had Virgil raising his head once more, just to be greeted by his teacher’s face. Virgil pouted, waiting for another bought of ridicule.

“Virgil, you have nothing to worry about.” His teacher said, hand falling back down to rest on the ground where they’d squatted to reach his eye level, “I shouldn’t really say anything about this because it’s none of my business, but-” Virgil had to bite his tongue as he wanted to fire a sarcastic retort right back at his teacher, who simply continued, “I can assure you that Mr Ashworth is showing just as much interest in you.”

This was the first time someone had outright told him that Patton seemed to share the same feelings, and suddenly Virgil felt different. He still wasn’t entirely convinced, but he was sure that was the pessimist in him, he was oddly feeling more confident in his own personal observations.

“Well, it’s really time to head home now, you two. Don’t want you getting locked in here with us.” Their teacher stood, straining as they put effort into getting up off the ground.

The two students gathered their things, thanked their teacher and walked out of the school. Virgil was silently thinking over everything that had happened recently, while Ayana kept glancing at him. Virgil kept noticing her out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn’t want to pressure her into talking.

“Virgil…? Are you okay?”

Ayana’s soft voice surprised him, even though he was waiting for her to speak, “Huh? What? Oh, oh yeah, I’m… fine. Totally fine.”

Ayana slowed down, causing Virgil to stop a little way down the path that lead out to the car park at the front of the school, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about everyone else… I didn’t want to scare you…”

Virgil opened his mouth to reassure his friend, but she stopped him quickly, “Please don’t interrupt! I don’t think I’ll be able to say this again if you do…” Virgil nodded and stayed silent.

“I could see it from the first time you brought Patton over. You seemed so much happier, so much more relaxed… and it was clear it was Patton. And he seemed extremely happy to be with you too. You’re both sweet with each other, both understand each other so well and, the teacher’s right, you two both obviously like each other. That was why I asked about the song when I heard it… I knew before you even told me…” Ayana’s eyes were trained on the ground as she rattled off her speech. She looked visibly upset, “I’m really sorry, Virgil…”

Virgil understood her up until her final apology, “What are you sorry for?”

Ayana shrugged, “For not telling you sooner…” Her eyes flicked up to him as he snorted at her confession.

“Ayana…” Virgil’s arm came to rest around her, giving her a gentle one-armed hug, “You don’t need to be sorry about that. You didn’t wanna stress me out or anything, I understand that. You’re good, we’re good. If I was upset, do you think I’d do this?” He ruffled her hair wildly, causing her to squeak and wriggle away from him with a laugh.

She couldn’t help but smile at him, “No… I guess not…”

“Exactly. Now, get out of here. Your parents will start coming for you again.”

Ayana suddenly tensed again before she began running towards the gate. She turned and waved at Virgil as she left, which Virgil returned. He knew she wanted to stop her eccentric parents from embarrassing her yet again, but he still couldn’t help but laugh. He headed home, his heart feeling a little lighter and his head swimming with information.

Everything was almost ready. He just had to figure out when to do it.


	24. Stalling

A year passed by with neither Virgil nor Patton confessing to each other. When asked by anyone, they’d admit that they hadn’t quite found the right time or place to do what they wanted. Patton often cited the fact that his idea just wasn’t ‘right’ yet, he wanted it to be absolutely perfect and finished before he even considered giving it to Virgil.

There had been several times where Patton had felt it was perfect to open up and confess. It was mostly on days where they were walking out of the school together, about to walk home, just the two of them. It was when both of them were at their most vulnerable and open, but every time he was about to ask, something would interrupt. It was almost as if the universe was telling him it wasn’t the right time.

The first time had been his friends, who he normally would have been extremely happy to see. Virgil had pointed out Daniel, Asher and Ayana all standing at the gate and the moment had passed. They wandered over to find out what the small group were all doing.

“Ah! There’s the dark one! Oh, and he brought another friend! Is this another one of yours, sweetheart?” A loud, cheerful voice called out as the pair approached.

Ayana was attempting to hide herself in the oversized hoodie she was swamped in, “Mom…” She complained softly, just audible above the noise of the other students leaving the school ground.

Ayana’s mother laughed intensely, giving her daughter a loud, exaggerated kiss, “No need to be embarrassed, sweetheart! All your friends are so adorable!”

Patton was slightly confused, tilting his head in the puppy-like way he usually did. His eyes travelled around all of his friends, seeing the rest of them vaguely amused. He looked back to the tall woman, who was somewhat tormenting his shyest friend. He wanted to say something, but Virgil’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. The two had a silent conversation with a simple look.

The interaction was not lost on Ayana’s mother, who coo’d loudly, catching the boys’ attention. “Let me guess, you two are the ones that are dating, right?” Patton and Virgil both rushed to deny it, their speech full of stuttering denials and wild gestures. Ayana’s mother merely laughed again, “All right, all right. I see what’s going on here. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” She winked playfully.

“Uh, w-we should probably be going. My dad’s expecting me home real soon, need to help him with… some stuff.” Patton offered with a hesitant smile, “It was nice meeting you!” Both him and Virgil scurried off, trying to get out of range of Ayana’s mother. As they were just getting out of earshot, they could hear her asking their friends about when they’d gotten together.

They both walked in silence for a while, unsure whether or not they should address what just happened.

“It’s pretty stupid, right?” Virgil started, trying to hold a weak smile.

Patton glanced up at his taller friend, before returning the smile, “Uh, yeah.”

“I mean, us, dating? We’re just like, best friends and everything.” Virgil chuckled unconvincingly, “Just because we spend time together and do all this stuff, doesn’t mean we’re dating.”

“Y-yeah! It’s all just platonic things, we’re just super best friends.”

“Just because you’re a super hug-y person and I’m chill with that. Has no relation to romance or anything like that.”

The two laughed awkwardly, before returning to their relative silence. Eventually, casual conversation returned and the events outside the school seemed to fade from their memories - at least, that’s how it came across on the outside for both of them. After returning home, Patton got straight back to work on his gift for Virgil. He had to make it extra perfect, to make up for all this.

The next time Patton had thought to ask was when he and Virgil were hanging out one weekend in his room. Patton was writing out some notes onto sticky notes so Virgil could add his other friends’ words to his positivity wall that was next to his bed.

Patton looked up from his position laying down on Virgil’s floor. He could see his best friend sat cross-legged with his guitar in hand, strumming a familiar song quietly. He looked so peaceful and happy, Patton was overcome with emotion and felt the words bubbling out of him before he could even really think about the consequences.

“Hey Virgil, I-”

The bedroom door flung open to show Virgil’s father, “Afternoon, boys! Sorry to interrupt you two, but I need to borrow Virgil for a second, is that alright?”

Patton quickly put on his usual sunny smile and watched as Virgil lazily followed his father out of the room. Once the coast was clear, Patton’s head fell down to the carpet and he sighed heavily. Of course, the moment was gone, once again. He went back to working on the notes in front of him.

Virgil returned shortly after, shutting the door behind him, “Sorry, dad wanted me to look at some stuff. You were gonna say something before he came in?”

“Oh, it was nothing!” Patton held out the stack of sticky notes to his friend, “Here! All yours!” He giggled, trying to keep the mood light.

Virgil didn’t seem all that convinced, but he didn’t press for anymore information. The two worked together to arrange all the sticky notes on the wall, leaving the unasked question in the past.

While Patton was being thwarted each time he attempted to confess, Virgil was thinking of the best time. He knew he’d only be able to do it in a place and a way that made him feel confident and alone. Virgil just wanted to make sure it was the most special because Patton deserved it. His friend - crush - deserved everything and Virgil wanted to give him just that - especially after all the crap with Roman and stuff like that.

One night, he felt a yearning to take a walk as the sun was setting. There wasn’t really a reason as to why he strapped his guitar case to his back as he was preparing to leave, but he did it anyway. Virgil let his parents know he was going out and shut the front door.

The air outside was beginning to cool and the world was quiet. Cars had stopped rushing around, ferrying their drivers and passengers home from work and school. Very few people were out wandering the streets as most of them had settled down in their homes for the evening, if the filtered lights through shut curtains and blinds told Virgil anything. He wandered slowly down his street, thinking through everything and anything that came to his mind.

At the end of the street, the dark mass that was the secluded park filled his vision and Virgil felt like he was almost magnetically attracted to it. He crossed the main road, wandered around and walked through the dark gates into the deserted park. Virgil meandered through, feeling somewhat calmed by the dark trees that surrounded the empty area. He stopped near where he and Patton had sat when they’d visited this park months back.

Something inside called for him to pull out his guitar, and so Virgil complied. He strummed a few chords, before he instinctively began to play the song he’d created for Patton.

This moment felt perfect. Virgil had found the place he needed. He made up his mind on the first chord; he would ask Patton here. He just had to figure out when.

While both of the boys were being somewhat patient in waiting for the right moment, a lot of their friends were becoming restless with the lack of progress the two had made. Eventually, a couple of them decided to take things into their own hands.

“Hey Virge!”

Virgil looked around the door to his locker at the call of his name. He was greeted by the view of Abigal heading towards him, “Hey.” He said as the girl stopped just in front of him, “What’s up?”

“I’m just taking things into my own hands, because some people are just too chicken to do it themselves!” She said, hands coming to rest on her hips. There seemed to be some fire behind her eyes that caused Virgil’s anxiety to spike for a second.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean-!” Abigal started before huffing loudly, “It just looks like I _have_ to be the one to get you a-!”

A dark-skinned hand came out of nowhere and covered Abigal’s mouth, causing her rant to be reduced to muffled, indecipherable words. At the same time, the mystery person’s other arm wrapped around her waist and started dragging her away from him. “Nope, you’re not doing this.” Reggie’s voice sounded from behind his locker door.

Some muffled protests from the girl in his arms had him shaking his head even more as he guided her away, “No. _I’m_ telling you this is a bad idea. Me. Hear that? It’s _me_ telling _you_ that it’s a bad idea. That’s how bad this idea is, love.” This exchanged continued as the couple made their way down the corridor.

An embarrassed laugh had Virgil turning back around to his locker door. There stood Em, a sheepish smile on her face, “Really sorry about that, Virgil! Sometimes, she just doesn’t know when to stop. We had to run after her!”

Virgil was still utterly confused, “What was she even talking about? Who’s chicken to do what?”

Em laughed again and waved a hand, “Oh, it doesn’t matter! Have a good rest of the day, see you tomorrow!” With that, his other friend ran after the other couple - who he could just about still hear somewhere deeper into the school - leaving him all alone.

“What the fuck…?” Virgil muttered to himself. He decided to try and forget about it, but it was all still playing on his mind as he went to his next class.

It was almost exactly a month after Abigal’s weird moment that everything was falling into place. Virgil was waiting for a day where it wouldn’t be too odd that he had his guitar with him, and it seemed like the universe was finally giving him a break.

His music teacher was out ill one day, but Virgil wasn’t told of this until he’d already reached the school. While a part of him was definitely worried about if his teacher would be okay, the other part was utterly ecstatic. He relayed the information to Patton at lunch, who was extremely excited to have another day walking home with his best friend.

As Virgil left his final class for the day, Ana cornered him and asked him if today was ‘ _The Day’_ \- as they put it, air quotes and all. He avoided the question, but the slight flush to his cheeks and the smile he gave at Ana’s excited reaction gave him away.

Virgil could feel his heart racing and his nerves going haywire as he quickly grabbed his things from his locker. He had to take a detour to get his guitar from the music room, but he was soon on his way to meet Patton in the lower area of the reception.

He could see his best friend sat waiting for him through the large windows as he approached and Virgil’s nerves spiked even higher, but he could feel adrenaline running through him at the same time. He was definitely scared, but he was also excited. Something deep down was telling him, everything would work out the way he wanted. Everything would be fine.

After gaining Patton’s attention, the two started their walk home, laughing and chatting as they usually would. When the trees of the park came into view, Virgil began to prepare himself internally. They reached the turning into their road and Virgil stopped.

“Hey Pat?”

“Hmm?” His friend turned to him, looking utterly adorable in every way.

Virgil couldn’t help but smile, “Uh, I don’t really, wanna get home just yet… Want to come hang out at the park with me?”

The smile that spread across Patton’s face could only be described by Virgil as pure sunshine. The other boy excitedly agreed and they both headed across the road to enter the park.

_‘Everything will be fine.’_ Virgil thought to himself, repeating it like a mantra in order to keep himself somewhat under-control. ‘ _Everything. Will. Be. Fine._ ’


	25. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have finally reached the scene that inspired this entire fic - well, at least, some of the scene that inspired this fic!
> 
> I hope you're all ready for a long one!

The park was mostly deserted, only a few young children and their parents were over by the children’s play park and the grass just in front of it. That left the rest of the grass open for the two boys to use. Both of them silently made their way to the furthest point away from the play park and sat themselves down, ready to relax in the afternoon sun.

Virgil’s mind and pulse were still racing. He knew he needed to get a hold of them right this second, or else his plan would be utterly ruined. As he took measures to calm himself down, he looked over his best friend and watched him.

Patton was sat with his legs stretched out in front of him, his arms holding up the weight of his torso as he leant back. His gorgeous eyes were closed as the light, cool breeze and warmth of the sun hit him so perfectly, making Virgil see him as something ethereal. It was almost as if Patton were some kind of angelic being that had fallen into his life just when he needed him most. Seeing him here, so calm and relaxed in this moment, only strengthened Virgil’s resolve to go through with his plan.

His hand brushed against the well-used guitar case that Patton had decorated for him, hesitating. The voice in the back of his head was shaking, it was so worried that this was going to be a mistake that Virgil would regret for the rest of his life, a mistake that could lose him his best friend in the whole world. The other voices drowned it out, however. They told him that if he didn’t do this, that would be the biggest regret of Virgil’s life. An opportunity like this wouldn’t come around for a very long time. He should take the plunge and just do it.

As Virgil debated in his head, he was far too preoccupied to notice that Patton had turned to look at him. It was only the soft tap on his shoulder that managed to pull him out of it.

Virgil whirled around as fast as he could, “Huh? What?”

Patton merely giggled, “You were lost in thought, huh, Virgie?” The soft flushing of the other’s cheeks answered Patton’s question, making him giggle harder, “It’s okay, you didn’t miss anything. I just wanted to tell you something!”

“Wh-what did you wanna say?” Virgil felt his stomach churning. There was no way that Patton had the same idea, right? His head was spinning, but he focused on his best friend as best he could.

“Happy Best Friend-iversary!” Patton shouted, throwing his arms around Virgil, hugging him tightly. “Did you know it’s been 12 years since we became best friends?”

Virgil felt himself calm a little before laughing softly and returning the hug lightly, “I didn’t know that, but it’s kinda cute that you remembered.”

Patton let go and stuck his tongue out at Virgil, “How could you not remember?! It’s only the most important day of our whole friendship!” He playfully pouted and crossed his arms.

Virgil rolled his eyes and began to pull out his precious guitar, “How about I make it up to you with a song? Call it a present for the best friend-iversary.”

Patton gasped loudly, “Yes, yes, yes! I love it when you play! Please, pretty please!” Patton excitedly tucked his legs under his body and faced Virgil fully, eyes shining with excitement. There was no way Virgil could say no to that face.

“Pat, I already said I would… but this is a special song, that I wrote… for you.” Virgil felt his heart-rate pick up once again. He swallowed hard to try and quell some of the nerves that were threatening to close his throat up.

Patton’s eyes couldn’t have gone wider if he’d tried, “You wrote me a song…?” He whispered reverently.

Virgil shuffled, a little awkward, “Uh, yeah… it’s nothing big, but um, I hope you like it…”

“You know I’ll love it, Virgie!” Patton squealed, shuffling closer.

“Okay, but um… just, don’t say anything, until it’s over, okay? It’s really important that you, uh… just listen. It’s a super important song.” Virgil rambled. Patton nodded silently and Virgil took that as his cue to begin.

He strummed the beginning chords, repeating them once over as he felt his confidence waning a little. Virgil rode the waves of adrenaline as if he was surfing on them. He just needed to commit to one of them in order to be able to begin.

“ _We're far apart, in every way_  
_But you're the best part of my day_  
 _And sure as I breath the air_  
 _I know we are the perfect pear_ ”

Virgil felt his confidence grow as he continued to sing. Finally, after all this time, he was singing this song for the boy he’d fallen for. They’d been close for years and years, they’d gone through so much crap as friends and would have gone through so much more had they been dating, but that part of their life was over. He kept his head down, his eyes shut as he put all of his heart into the lyrics.

“ _On a prickly path that goes on for miles_  
_But it's worth it just to see you smile_  
 _And I cannot be pulled apart from the hold you have on my heart_  
 _And even if the world tells us it's wrong,_  
 _you're in my head like a catchy song_ ”

Virgil continued to strum but raised his head to look at his friend who sat in silence in front of him. He saw the beautiful sunshine grin gracing the boy’s stunning face, saw the shining eyes that seemed to be full of unwept tears. Virgil had to know something, “So, do you like it?”

Patton choked out a laugh, the tears slowly rolling down his cheeks, “It’s so amazing, I love it, Virgil. This is the best present you could have ever given me!”

“It’s not over yet, just… let me finish this.” Virgil let his head fall once again, focusing hard on the lyrics once more.

“ _The seasons change, and leaves may fall_  
_But I'll be with you through them all_  
 _And rain or shine_  
 _You'll always be mine_

_On a prickly path that goes on for miles_  
_You're the only one who makes it all worthwhile_  
 _And you should not blame me too_  
 _If I can't help fallin' in love with you_ ”

Virgil stopped strumming immediately, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. That wasn’t entirely planned. Sure, he’d written it as one end, but it wasn’t what he’d planned to say. He stared at his friend, awaiting their reaction.

Patton was also still, clearly shocked by the sudden confession. He searched Virgil’s panicked expression before smiling playfully, “Hey, that’s no fair! I wanted to be the first one to say it!” He pushed Virgil’s shoulder lightly, pretending to scold him.

Virgil quickly scoffed and smiled, “Well, too bad, you took too long.”

Patton shrugged, “I guess so! But my idea was so perfect!” He whined, faking a small tantrum, “and now it’s all ruined, but I guess I’ll show you later…” He looked back at his friend with a grin.

Virgil shook his head and started to put his guitar away, “I mean, if that’s what you want to do, sure.”

“Hey Virge…?”

Patton’s voice held a note of vulnerability that Virgil hadn’t heard in a long time. It reminded him of the time in his bedroom, where his dad had interrupted.

“Yeah, Patton?”

His friend looked uncharacteristically nervous. He was holding himself tightly and not making eye contact. Virgil’s worry spiked once more as he waited for Patton to speak again.

“Did… did you mean it?”

Virgil nodded, but then realised that Patton wasn’t looking at him, “Yeah… I did.”

Only then did Patton look up at him through his eyelashes, “So, does that mean… you’ll go out with me, like… dating?”

Virgil couldn’t help the soft snort laugh that left him as relief flooded his body. He reached out and hugged Patton tightly, whispering softly, “Of course, Patton. I want to date you, if you want to date me.”

Patton immediately grasped a hold of Virgil, holding him so tightly. It was almost as if Patton felt like Virgil would disappear if he even gave him the slightest chance to move. Silent sobs wracked his body as all the worry and fear about this whole thing came crashing down on top of him. Virgil said nothing, just let the young boy cry it out in his arms. Patton was so thankful to have Virgil in his life, the boy who’d been his rock, the one who’d been truly with him this whole time, through all the awful stuff with his brother, and now finally they’d confessed.

Suddenly, Patton’s sobs turning to what could be mistaken for hysterical laughter. He pulled away from Virgil, wiping his eyes. His frie- no, his boyfriend’s hands remained on his shoulders, they were only resting there but it was utterly comforting. Patton looked up at Virgil, eyes puffy and red. There was a new-found fondness in the other boy’s eyes that made Patton feel all fuzzy and warm. Without too much thought, he threw himself towards Virgil, pressing kisses all over his face.

Virgil squirmed and laughed. He didn’t try to push Patton away or stop him, it was actually somewhat enjoyable to have the lovable boy pecking kisses all over his face. Eventually, Patton seemed to have his fill and stopped, grinning happily up at Virgil.

He acted without too much thought. Virgil moved his hand to hold Patton’s chin lightly, giving him all the time in the world to push his hand away. He lent in slowly and watched with curiosity as Patton’s eyes slid closed. The nerves inside of him were causing his internal voice to screech, but Virgil ignored it and pressed the gentlest of kisses to Patton’s lips.

While it wasn’t their first kiss because of that spin the bottle game from the sleepover, it was their first kiss after finally voicing their feelings and everything was so much better for it. The kiss lasted far longer, both of them enjoying the sensation immensely. It didn’t go any further than just soft and sweet, and it was simply perfect.

Their wonderful moment was ruined by Virgil’s phone beginning to blare loudly. They jumped apart, startled by the sudden noise. Virgil apologised before scrambling for his phone, answering the call as quick as possible.

That led to them both heading out of the park. Patton was happily wrapped under Virgil’s arm, their fingers intertwined. Everything was feeling just right. They stopped in front of their houses.

“Well, this is me.” Virgil said, looking down at Patton, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Patton hummed in thought, “Can I come over later, actually? I have something for you.”

Virgil wasn’t expecting such a request, but nodded in agreement, “Sure. I’ll text you when I’m done, promise.”

Patton grinned and spun himself out of Virgil’s arm with a giggle. He closed the distance between them and kissed him goodbye before running across the road.

Virgil must have looked extremely pleased as he entered his house, if his father’s comments were anything to go by.

“Well, what’s got you so happy, son?” His father asked, teasingly from his spot on the couch.

“Nothing really.” Virgil said, putting his bags down at the foot of the stairs, “It’s okay if Patton comes over later, right? Once we’re done?”

His father smiled, “Of course it is! Now, come on, I need your extra pair of hands to organise these tests.”

Virgil followed his dad into the downstairs office, where he was greeted by large piles of test papers and essays. He sat down, cross-legged on the floor and began to work through the first pile. It wasn’t the first time his dad had asked for his help with this, though it had been Logan’s responsibility back before he went off to university.

His father sat down in the office chair with a loud groan. He watched his son get to work with the papers before asking, “Son, will you answer me one question?”

“I guess…?”

“How did it take you two so long?”

Virgil dropped the test in his hand, his eyes shooting open wide as he stared open-mouthed at his dad. This reaction had his dad in fits of laughter.

“You two aren’t so slick, y’know. I saw you two outside.” His dad said, chuckles still rippling through him.

“Invasion of privacy, dad! What the hell!” Virgil growled, trying to get back to working on the papers.

“It was a public space, Virgil. Doesn’t count.” His father shot him finger guns before turning back to his computer and working on some document that was already half-finished.

Virgil worked quickly, grumbling half of the time about how it was unfair and not right for his dad to have seen and talk about stuff like that. His dad ignored him for the most part, only throwing a couple of retorts every now and then. It was just passing 5pm when Virgil was finished sorting out the papers.

He stood and stretched before pulling out his phone. He let Patton know he was free to come over and was about to put his phone in his pocket when he got a response, “Hey dad, Patton’s coming over now. See you later.”

“Okay, son. Find out if he’d like to stay for dinner. Also, no sex in the house!” His dad called to him teasingly.

Virgil, who was already halfway towards the staircase, froze and yelled back, “Shut up! Oh my god! You’re the worst!” This was only met with loud laughter which caused a fond smile to pull at the corners of Virgil’s lips.

Very soon, Patton was sat on Virgil’s bed and the two were happily chatting about something or other. It didn’t take long for Patton to introduce the reason he’d come over this evening by handing Virgil a fairly heavy plastic bag.

“Ta-da! For you!” Patton offered with a smile, “Go on! Open it!”

“You just gave it to me. Give me a second.” Virgil laughed.

Virgil pulled the plastic bag off of a present box. He shot a suspicious glance to his new boyfriend. While there was the possibility of the other boy doing a “box in a larger box” present, it was highly unlikely he’d do that for this moment. Cautiously, Virgil untied the ribbon that kept the lid firmly shut. He could see Patton practically vibrating with excitement next to him as he slowly lifted the lid of the box.

Virgil’s breath caught. Inside was a gorgeous spiral bound notebook. He carefully lifted it out and looked over the front cover, feeling the weight of the surprisingly thick pad of paper as he did so. The entire front was covered in various flowers, all gorgeous looking and detailed. Virgil ran his fingers over each one, taking in all the details as best he could.

Patton couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He’d given Virgil a few minutes, but he just had to speak. “So, all the flowers mean something really special!” Patton started, shifting closer to Virgil so he could point to each flower in turn. The excited boy explained each and every flower, what it meant and why he picked it for this gift - which resulted in a very flustered and blushing Virgil due to all the compliments that were showering him.

“Oh! It’s also on the back, see!” Patton turned the book over in Virgil’s hands, showing him that the flowers did indeed carry through to the back. Patton began to ramble about other things, “I knew I wasn’t the most artistic and greatest at drawing or painting, so I asked for Em’s help and she was super super helpful in teaching me how to do this. I mean, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, or let you know that she did all the line work, but she did such an amazing job! I couldn’t take all the credit for it! Also, also, Asher helped me with all the flower meanings! We spent like three weeks coming up with all the flowers, they were just so amazing with it all and so helpful. I came up with the final design though and chose all the flowers, putting them in the best place and I painted it all too!”

Virgil was only half paying attention, too engrossed in the beautiful piece of art in front of him. It was so wonderfully thought out and looked amazing. He turned it back over so he could open the front cover and have a look at the pages inside and was greeted with the final surprise. Written in big bold letters on the inside cover was a simple question: “Virgil, will you go out with me?”

Patton was still rambling on beside him but was slowly tapering off as he saw that Virgil had opened the cover. He laughed unashamedly, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that! That was my idea to ask, but you beat me to-” His sentence was cut off as Virgil’s arms wrapped around him tightly. The hug was quickly reciprocated, but something felt a little off. Virgil’s arms were too tight, his body too tense. Patton began to worry a little, “Virgil…? Are you okay?”

“Sorry…” came the muffled response as Virgil buried his head against Patton’s shoulder.

“What are you sorry for?” Patton ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair, while his other hand soothingly rubbed circles against his back.

“Ruined it…”

Patton could only smile, “I already told you it was fine, Virgie. You didn’t do anything wrong, I loved it. Yours was way better.”

Virgil turned his head, so he was facing Patton’s neck, now able to speak freely, “Don’t say that, this is so fucking cute. Yours is so good…”

“Language.”

Virgil snorted, smirking to himself. He was slowly relaxing in Patton’s hold, his grip finally loosening to it’s usual state. Virgil shifted around a little to get comfortable, but kept his head resting on Patton’s shoulder. The moment felt perfect and sweet. Just the way it should be. But Virgil was yearning for something and he knew he’d have to ask for it.

“Hey… Patton?” He muttered, a little ashamed.

“Yeah?”

“Can I… uh, can we…” Virgil swallowed hard, trying to force the words out of himself, “Iwannakissyouagain.” As his words all rolled into one, Virgil cringed. The slight shudder of laughter from Patton had Virgil lifting his head to look at his newly appointed boyfriend.

Patton was giving him such a fond look that Virgil felt his heart might explode, “I’m proud of you for asking…” Patton spoke so softly, lifting Virgil’s head back up so he could line up their lips once more.

Virgil was so relieved that Patton was taking the initiative, as he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do it again. Ever so softly, their lips met again. It didn’t take long for the world around them to fall apart as they focused on the gentle movements and the wonderful softness.

“Son, did you find out if-”

Virgil fell off his bed due to him pulling away so quickly from Patton. His heart pounded and his breathing quickened in an instant. He raised his gaze to glare at his father in the now open doorway of his room, completely at odds with the dark blush that coated his cheeks, “OH MY GOD GET OUT!”

His dad chuckled and shut the door quickly, blocking the cushion that was thrown his way by his son, “Sorry, Virgil. I just never found out if Patton was staying for dinner or not.”

“I DON’T CARE! GET OUT!” Virgil screeched the command once more, the pitch rising significantly.

Now, both his dad and his boyfriend were laughing. He turned sharply to look at Patton, who was instead looking towards the door, “I’d love to stay, Mr Mortenson.”

“Of course, Patton. Also, please, call me Jason. You’ve been here often enough.” Virgil’s dad offered with a smile, “I’ll call you when dinner’s ready. You two play nice now!”

“DAD! WHAT THE FUCK?!” Virgil cried out, having finally gotten up from the floor.

“Language!” was the response he got from both of the other two, echoing from both outside the door and inside his room.

Virgil pouted and sat back down on the bed, clearly unhappy and uncomfortable with the interruption. Patton’s arms sliding around him managed to break his pout, causing Virgil to turn and bury his face into Patton’s shoulder once again, “My dad’s the worst…” Virgil complained, trying desperately to sink into Patton so he’d never have to face his father again.

Patton simply giggled, “I think he’s great fun!”

Virgil groaned, “You’re both the worst…”

“Love you too, Virgie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used is "[You're In My Head Like A Catchy Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOsTRTMvpsk)" from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.


	26. Questions

Virgil took a deep breath to ready himself before he shut his locker, lunch in hand. He knew people were going to be going a little bit crazy because of him and Patton getting together. He knew full well who would be the most excited and was just trying to ready himself for the onslaught he was about to endure. He slowed as he approached their usual spot, taking one more deep, steading breath before he rounded the corner.

“FINALLY!” A voice screamed as Virgil suddenly found himself accosted by a few of his friends. He stood motionless, unsure of how to respond to the sudden affection that was being thrown towards him. Em, Abigal and Thomas has practically thrown themselves at him, wrapping him in a sudden group hug.

After a few seconds, they released him. They all allowed him the chance to settle down and put his bag under the bench before they began throwing question after question at him.

“So, how did you do it!?”

“Who asked first?!”

“Wait, did you both ask?!”

“It had to be so cute! Where did it happen?”

Virgil just let them attack him with question after question as he ate his food. He refused to respond to any of them, only saying, “Wait until Patton gets here.”

While some of them were happy to wait just a couple more minutes, a couple of them were not so patient.

“Aw, come _on,_ Virgil! We _need_ answers! I need answers! It’s been way too long that we’ve been waiting for thiiiiis! Pleeeeeeeease?” Abigal whined, attempting to use her ‘cute face’ to get her way. Virgil scoffed and shook his head, taking another bite of his food.

Abigal opened her mouth to complain some more, but Ana cut her off, “Virge, stop being a dick already. Just tell us.” Virgil remained silent, only staring at his friend with vague disinterest. “You’re an asshole.” Ana snorted, a wry smile tugging at their lips.

They’d just finished their statement when the cheery voice of Patton rang through, “Hi guys! How are you all?” They all offered up quick responses and allowed Patton the same curtesy they’d given Virgil. Patton took the seat next to his new boyfriend and, before sliding his bag under the bench as well, placed a gentle kiss to the boy’s cheek. Virgil flushed, and Patton giggled before resting his head against the hoodie-covered shoulder.

Only once Patton had fully settled down did anyone get the answers they’d been asking for. All of the same questions were asked to Patton, who was more than happy to answer all of them. He responded to each and every one with the largest, sunniest grin any of them had seen in a long time. Throughout all of his responses, Patton would try and get Virgil included – either by doing something as simple as looking towards hi new boyfriend or something more involved such as hugging Virgil tightly and pressing a kiss to the flushed cheek of the other boy. Everyone around them were infected by the simple love and affection that was radiating from the new couple, causing the other couples in the group to become a little more affectionate and everyone else found themselves smiling warmly.

Finally, everyone’s curiosity surrounding the circumstances of the whole ‘asking out’ thing was satiated, and Patton was able to begin eating. The conversation turned to other, usual topics with the usual ringleaders carrying the whole thing. It was comfortable, and Virgil was thankful for that.

He had been nervous since Patton had gone home the night before about how his friends would take the new change to their group. He was worried that they’d all start treating the two of them differently, maybe he’d become ‘Patton’s Boyfriend’ or the opposite would happen to Patton. It had taken him an uncomfortable amount of time to fall asleep with all the worries and fears darting through his head, but this normality was what he needed. Yes, they’d all been talking about the two of them for quite a while, but they’d not been lumped together as ‘the couple’. Virgil felt his shoulders finally relaxing, something that must have been noticed by Patton as he looked up towards the taller boy with a soft smile.

Just then, a loud gasp caught everyone’s attention. Abigal was currently whispering something into Reggie’s ear, something that was clearly amusing to him as he laughed, “If that’s what you want.” Reggie said, looking to Abigal as she leaned away from him.

Abigal, after grinning widely, snapped her head towards Patton and Virgil. Suddenly, Virgil was extremely nervous all over again and his shoulders tensed once more.

“Heyyyy, you two!” Abigal called out in a sing-song voice that just dripped with the promise of an underlying motive.

Virgil swallowed hard, his fear only growing stronger though he fought to not show it outwardly. It was almost as if Patton had a second sense for when Virgil was starting to get scared as he responded for the both of them, “Abi, you know it’s creepy when you do things like that…” The usually sunny boy chastised, his face turning serious.

Abigal giggled, “Oops, sorry dads. Oh! Now that’s another good idea!” She snapped her fingers and seemed to make a mental note, “Anyway, not important right now! I just wanted to offer you two a very exclusive, once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Silence greeted her statement, the only noise being the general chatter of the other students out around the courtyard. Everyone was glancing between each other. It was clear no one really knew what to say in response or who should actually say anything.

In the opposite direction of his girlfriend’s gaze, Reggie seemed almost shocked, yet not at all surprised. He blinked a few times before dragging a hand down his face with a long drawn out breath. His other arm came to rest on her knee, pulling her attention to him, “Abi. Abigal. Love. Sweetheart. Chaton. It’s just a double date, not an invitation to an orgy.”

Everyone reacted immediately. Ana spit out the water they’d just started to take a drink from, aiming it away from everyone as best they could, while Em’s mouth dropped open in pure shock. Virgil’s face turned bright red and his embarrassment was clearly infectious as Ayana began to sink as far into her large jacket as possible and Daniel attempted to hide his pink cheeks by looking out towards the other students. Sophia began to lose it, her arms clutching her stomach as she laughed hard. Asher shook their head with a sigh, unsure of what they should even do. Both Thomas and Patton reacted similarly to Em, with their mouths falling open, but quickly turned to help others – Patton trying to calm Virgil and Ayana, Thomas began helping Ana alongside Em as they were coughing hard due to their spit-take.

The oddest thing to them all was Abigal’s reaction. She simply pouted, mostly unaffected by the whole thing, “Awww, c’mon… just let me be a little dramatic?” She attempted to use her cute face again, but Reggie only responded by tilting his head a little.

Only after she turned away from him to address Patton and Virgil again did she see the chaos. Abigal’s face twisted into an expression of pure alarm as she took in the whole scene in front of her, “What the fuck happened to you guys?!” She practically yelled.

Sophia responded between laughs, “That orgy comment, was the fucking, most hilarious thing, I’ve ever heard. I don’t, I don’t think anyone was, ready for that.” Sophia fell back into laughter as Abigal began to pout and whine about what she’d said, mostly chastising her for possibly boosting her boyfriend’s already insane ego.

Virgil was extremely thankful that everyone else was taking the seemingly off-hand comment almost as well as he was. Sophia was entirely right, he was not at all ready for something like that to come out, especially implying him being involved. He managed to calm down and relax back to his usual levels with some help from his other surrounding friends, some of whom were now also joining in on the debate on whether or not the comment was absolutely hilarious or if it went too far. It was still being hotly debated by a few as they all grabbed their stuff and began to go their separate ways to their classes.

He’d almost been able to forget about the whole ordeal, his brain being filled with useless math and science knowledge that he’d likely forget about it in a couple of weeks’ time, but he was reminded once he arrived home.

Virgil had just dropped into his chair at his desk when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text from Abigal, causing his flashback. After trying to clear his head once more, Virgil unlocked the phone and was able to read the whole text.

_Cat Mom: Super sorry for what happened at lunch today. We didn’t mean for it to go that far or to fuck you up. Legit just wanted to ask if you wanted to come double date with us, we’re going to the amusement park just outside of town on the weekend and I thought you two might like to join us!_

It was only once a reply came through that Virgil realised it was a group text.

_Sun Dad: Thanks! That sounds super fun!! I’d love to go, if Virgil’s up to come too!_

Suddenly, Virgil felt the pressure. He didn’t exactly know what was at the theme park they were talking about, but he knew he was not a fan of rollercoasters or most rides that threw you all around. But he also didn’t want to disappoint Patton by not wanting to go, meaning that either Abigal and Reggie would go alone and Patton would be left out and likely upset, or Patton would go along with them and have act as an awkward third wheel for their already planned date.

Virgil quickly dove for his laptop and threw it open. He nervously drummed his fingers on the edge of the desk as he cursed his laptop for being so slow, giving him even more time to stew in his anxious thoughts. Finally, he was able to log onto his laptop and open a blank notepad document, while the group chat sat open in the background. Virgil felt his heart racing as he stared at the blinking

This was a habit for Virgil. If he wasn’t sure how to respond, wasn’t sure how to phrase exactly what he wanted to say or was worried about his response being sent early when he wasn’t happy about it, then he would open something that he could type into and have it in the bottom corner of his screen. It meant he could write and re-write as much as he liked without having the texting icon pop up for everyone else and he couldn’t accidentally hit enter or send the message before he was ready.

Virgil spent the next 10 minutes typing and re-typing his message as well as watching the minutes slip by on the desktop clock in the bottom corner of his screen. He was still hotly debating in his head if he even wanted to go along, but his want to make Patton happy was slowly proving itself to be the victor. Finally, Virgil copied and pasted his message into the group chat. He paused for a little while, wanting it to look natural and all that.

_Moon Dad: I mean, if Patton’s cool with it, sure… I guess. Which place is it?_

Virgil was a little taken aback when he saw the name he had. Now, he was curious.

_Moon Dad: Wait. Why is my name Moon Dad? Wtf._

_Cat Mom: Because Patton is Sun Dad!_

Virgil felt his cheeks flushing slightly. That was… surprisingly cute and he really liked it. Them having matching nicknames on this chat just made his heart flutter a little, which somehow flipped an anxiety switch that began to wonder if he was ill. He rolled his eyes and shook the thought away, focusing on the wonderful feeling he felt.

 _Cat Mom: Also, yes! I am so excited!!_  
_Cat Mom: It’s called ‘WonderZone’._  
 _Cat Mom: Trust me, it’s way better than the name it has._  
 _Cat Mom: We’re going on Saturday! Meet us there at around 10? We’ll be outside the main gate, so we can all go in together!_

_Sun Dad: I’m so excited!!_

_Asshole: Sounds good. See you guys then.  
Asshole: Hey. Rude._

_Asshole change their name to Perfect._

_Perfect: Much better._

_Cat Mom: Uh, wrong!_

Virgil smiled wryly as he watched the other couple bicker over their chat, refusing to get involved in their argument. He muted the chat for a while as he knew this would last for at least a solid hour and went about his usual business online. It then occurred to him to look up the amusement park they’d be going to, just to see what they had to offer.

The page was as garish as most theme park websites tended to be, but Virgil was still going to press on and he looked at the attractions the park had to offer. His stomach dropped when he saw that the first group were all a bunch of popular rollercoasters and thrill rides. Virgil stopped researching pretty fast, letting the dread consume him as he really didn’t want to see too much more of these rides.

Virgil was pretty sure he’d just made a huge mistake and he wasn’t sure how he was going to fix it.


	27. Double Date

Virgil was an absolute mess the night before the theme park double date. He was still utterly scared at the prospect of being forced onto rollercoasters that would terrify him even more than he already thought they would, which would then cause him to look extremely childish, which would then cause Abigal to laugh and treat him like a little baby, and would cause Reggie to suggest they leave him behind with the child day care if he couldn’t handle something so easy, and would cause Patton to then see that Virgil was absolutely not the person he thought he was and then Patton would leave him and ditch him forever because he couldn’t handle rollercoasters!

The teenager groaned and rolled over, crushing his face into his pillow, hiding from the morning light that was trying so hard to enter his room through his closed, blackout curtains. “It’s official. I am going to die alone.”

“What’s got you all upset, honey? I thought you’d be excited to go out with your friends today.” His mother had entered his room almost silently and the sound of her voice startled Virgil a little bit. He caught his breath as she walked over to the curtains and pulled them open.

As the morning light was finally allowed to shine into the room, Virgil groaned again, shoving his face further into the pillow, “Mom… Why are you in my room…?” He mumbled into the pillow.

There was a soft laugh before Virgil felt weight being added to the edge of his mattress and a hand coming to rest on his back, “I wanted to make sure you were getting up in time, sweetheart. Please, tell me what’s wrong?”

Virgil sighed heavily and sat up, leaving the covers pooling around his waist as he leant against the headboard. He talked about what he’d seen on the website for the theme park and how he felt about it all, how many of his thoughts had spiralled over the last couple of days as the time got closer, how he wasn’t sure how to bring this up after Patton was so excited for it.

“Oh honey…” His mom said, moving closer to wrap him in a loose hug, “Patton would understand and so would your other friends. I know it must be hard for you to open up to them about these things, but I think you should at least let Patton know.”

“I can’t.” Virgil muttered, his face buried against his mother’s shoulder, “Patton would stop himself doing things he wanted to do if I told him… That’s not fair on him…”

His mom pulled away and brushed his hair away from his face, “Well, I just want you to promise me that you won’t push yourself too hard today, okay?” She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead when he quietly agreed to her statement before she got up and headed to the door, “Get up and dressed quickly so you can have some breakfast before you go.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “Okay mom. Be down in a little bit.”

It took him much more time to get ready that morning than usual as he still was trying to delay the inevitable. He spent far longer picking out his outfit, changing his mind several times before deciding, he redid his makeup at least four times to make sure it was ‘perfect’, he triple checked that he had all the things he needed in his pockets before even thinking about reaching for the door handle. Virgil looked aimlessly around his room, as if searching for one more thing to try and occupy his time before he finally left his bedroom.

Virgil trudged down the stairs at a sluggish pace, his brain racing at almost three times the speed of that trying to think of excuses he could use – not that he’d actually use any of them and leave Patton on his own like that. Eventually, he reached the kitchen and slipped into the free chair next to the door, across from his mom, who smiled at him warmly before going back to reading the article she was deep into.

His dad placed a plate with some toast in front of him along with a drink, ruffling his son’s hair as he took seat in the final chair, “So, worried about today, huh?”

Virgil shot a look over to his mother, who simply ignored it but took an extended and loud sip from her morning coffee to hide the small smile, “Thanks mom.”

Jason laughed, “You’ll be fine. There are lots of different things to do at theme parks that don’t involve rollercoasters and thrill rides. Everyone has different things they want to do, so they’ll listen to you, especially if they’re your friends and if they’re Patton.”

The teenager let out a deep breath, “But I don’t want to force anyone to do anything… or have them think I’m a huge wimp or a baby…”

His dad’s face turned serious, “If they think that and make fun of you for it, then they’re not very good friends, Virgil.” Neither said another word as Virgil began to finally eat through the toast in front of him.

Virgil knew that both his parents were right, but it was hard to believe when his thoughts were so fixated on being loud and obnoxious about all the insecurities he had. He needed to just keep their words in mind and trust his friends. He did trust them, especially Patton.

As he thought that, there was a knock at the door that had Virgil’s heartrate doubling.

“That must be Patton. I’ll get it, you just finish eating.” Jason patted his son’s shoulder in a way to silently tell him that it was okay if he couldn’t. Virgil nibbled and took small bites as he heard the front door opening and the sudden cheery voice of his boyfriend.

_‘Everything will be fine.’_ Virgil chanted in his head. He stood up, leaving his breakfast half finished. He downed the last of the drink he’d been given before stepping out into the living room.

“Hi Virgil! Are you excited?” Patton asked, immediately running towards him and grabbing a hold of his hands. He was bouncing up and down on his toes, being utterly adorable in every way. Virgil couldn’t destroy that.

“Uh, yeah, totally. So excited.” Virgil plastered on a fake smile.

For a brief moment, it seemed like Patton was concerned about Virgil’s response, but he must have imagined the sudden expression change as Patton was still excitable and bouncy when he left his side.

Virgil got the disappointed Dad look when he slipped out of the car later, but he attempted to ignore the guilt that rose up in his stomach when he saw it. “Have a good time, boys! Let me know when you two would like to be picked up!” Jason called out of the window before driving out of the car park outside the theme park.

The two teenagers headed towards the front gates, looking around to see if they could spot their other friends that were supposed to be meeting them there. As they reached the pavement just outside, Patton’s phone started to ring. He fished it out of the bag he had slung over his body and picked it up, “Hello?”

“Hi Pat! So so _so_ sorry! We’re running a little bit late! We’ll be there as soon as we can!” Abigal’s voice came through the speaker, loud enough for Virgil to hear it from where he was standing.

Patton giggled, seemingly having expected this turn of events, “It’s okay! See you soon.” With that, he hung up and turned to Virgil with a large sunny grin, “I guess you heard that?”

Virgil let out a soft breath of laughter, “Yup. Guess we’ll be out here for a little bit.”

They both moved closer to the wall, standing in a small part that was free of posters or gates. Patton was making light conversation, while Virgil pulled out his phone and was scrolling through social media at the same time. It didn’t exactly register to him, but his nerves had died down quite a bit. It was almost as if just being around Patton calmed him down.

As he was thinking about the boy, Virgil turned and looked at his boyfriend. He was suddenly struck with how odd they must look to some outside observers. Virgil leaning up against the wall casually in his ripped jeans, emo band hoodie and dark makeup, black headphones dangling from the shirt collar as he scrolled through his phone that had a self-made MCR phone case, while Patton stood next to him, looking extremely innocent by comparison. He was stood just in front of the wall, rather than leaning against it, which allowed for the pastel-coloured skirt he was wearing to flow in the soft breeze along with the bright shirt that had some sort of motivational saying on it that made Virgil almost puke at the thought – he’d had way too many of those back with an old therapist. His hair was pinned back with a simple butterfly clip and was looking all around extremely approachable.

Two completely opposite looking human beings not just standing next to each other, but clearly being close. At one point in the conversation, Patton moved closer and grabbed a hold of Virgil’s hand, swinging it lightly and looking entirely smitten with the dark emo. It made Virgil smile, because he knew he must look the same.

“PATTON! VIRGIL!” A loud shout and the sound of someone running broke their little moment as both of them turned to see Abigal coming towards them at full speed. She skidded to a halt just in front of them and panted, “I am so sorry. It was all my fault. I couldn’t find the thing I needed. And then my dad wasn’t answering the phone. And then I-”

Virgil clocked out of Abigal’s ramblings as he noticed that Reggie wasn’t currently alongside her. He looked behind the girl to see the other teenager in question slowly heading their way, taking his time rather than running like his girlfriend had done. They made eye contact as he got within speaking distance and the two greeted each other a little awkwardly – at least on Virgil’s part.

Unlike Abigal and Patton who had known each other since Patton had started high school, Reggie and Virgil were still relatively new friends, and really hadn’t had any time to get to know one another outside of their large friend group meetups. Virgil had this feeling that he should get to know Reggie, that maybe they could be friends as a lot of their humour lined up, but he just didn’t know how to go about it.

While Virgil was thinking all of this, Abigal had finally caught her breath and was done listing off her rack of apologies. She grabbed Reggie’s arm and pointed to the gates, “Time to go in and have the time of our lives!”

Patton squealed in joy and dragged Virgil along behind him as he followed the other couple up to the gates. They stood in line, chatting happily and laughing as they waited to reach the attendant. When it was their turn, Abigal stepped up and dug around in her bag.

“Abi?” came the voice from inside, causing the girl to look up.

She immediately broke out into a large grin, “Oh hey! I didn’t realise you were working today!” Abigal and the worker started an extremely casual conversation, which didn’t seem all too out of the ordinary. She was a very outgoing person and would probably have a few friends that none of them were aware of. The strangest thing happened at the end of the conversation, “So, I have three friends with me today, okay?” They all watched as Abigal passed over a card and the attendant barely checked it before handing it back.

“Have a good time!” The attendant smiled at them all, looking at them for the first time. Abigal thanked them and grabbed a hold of Reggie’s arm and Patton’s free hand before dragging all of them along with her into the park, through the turnstile.

All three of her friends were a little stunned, Virgil also feeling some form of pure terror. They’d all just walked in without being asked a single question, without any of them paying or doing anything that they should have to do in order to gain entrance to somewhere like this and it was not sitting well with him.

“What was that?” Reggie asked once they were all a fair distance from the entrance.

Abigal turned and looked at him with a slightly confused smile, “What do you mean?”

“You just dragged us all into a theme park. You knew the person at the entrance and you just had to hand over a weird card thing that they didn’t even have to look at to let you and your friends in.” Reggie rattled off all the events, almost deadpanning the whole thing.

“Ohhhhh, I hadn’t told you guys?” Abigal gasped and looked between each of them, falling on Virgil last. He was acutely aware that he was probably showing a lot of his anxiety right now, especially as he had to fight so hard to keep control of it. Abigal bit her lip before apologising, “I’m sorry, I thought I told you all that my dad owns the park…”

“WHAT?!” Patton screeched, drawing the collective attention of almost everyone, “That’s amazing!”

His reaction perked Abigal right up, “I know, right?! It’s freaking awesome! Though I am super super sorry about not telling you guys, I didn’t mean to scare you like that…” Virgil knew that was aimed mostly at him, but he was appreciative anyway. Knowing they weren’t breaking the rules and were definitely not about to get thrown out or arrested was most certainly a good thing for his nerves as they almost immediately dropped back to their normal levels.

“So, where first? You know all the best places, Abi! Where should we go?” Patton was almost vibrating from excitement. Abigal brought him over to a map and pointed to several of the rides around the park, indicating the order that she thought they should all do them in. Virgil tried to not pay attention, instead looking for something that was more his kind of thing. He noticed there was an arcade put at the centre of the map and that sounded like a much easier and better thing for him to do, now it was just bringing it up… which he just couldn’t do.

Abigal and Patton led the way, chatting and laughing as they walked in front of their significant others. They walked at a decently fast pace, which meant that Virgil’s nerves were upping at the exact same rate. They were getting closer and closer to that first rollercoaster and Virgil was having a hard time keeping himself calm. He could do this, he could definitely do this. It was only one rollercoaster, it didn’t really matter all that much. He was too busy trying to calm himself down that he didn’t notice someone was watching him the whole time.

Next to him, Reggie was clearly noticing Virgil’s anxiousness and was trying to figure out what was causing it to suddenly rise like it had. It made sense that the initial scare of being pulled through into a theme park without being told how they were able to just walk in would put some stress on the poor kid, but all they were doing was walking through the park.

“Ah, there it is!” Patton excitedly pointed towards the sign in the distance for the ride and Reggie saw that Virgil immediately tensed even more. It was suddenly all clear.

The two at the front of their group immediately headed for the entrance, but Virgil and Reggie stayed back, not getting close to the line. After a moment, Abigal and Patton realised that their boyfriends weren’t following them and returned to their sides.

“Hey, what’s up? You guys not coming?” Patton asked, sounding concerned.

Abigal smirked playfully, “Are you two just too chicken?” To anyone that wasn’t Virgil, it was clear she was only messing with them.

But Virgil was sadly himself and this was just Virgil’s worst fears coming true. Patton being upset with him not wanting to go on the rides and ruining the whole day for everyone. Abigal thinking he was a wimp and a coward and thinking less of him because of it. He was just beginning to wallow in his despair when Reggie scoffed exaggeratedly beside him. He looked up to see the boy flick his long braids in a show of sass.

“Excuse me? You think _I’m_ going on _that?_ With this hair? Honey, no. I am not ruining perfection for some cheap thrills that mean nothing to me.” Reggie pouted and crossed his arms in a show of defiance before continuing, “You two go enjoy whatever you want, ruin yourselves as much as you like. Virgil and I-” He looped an arm around Virgil’s shoulders casually, leaning into the emo a little, “-are going to go have our own fun, alright?”

It was clear to both Abigal and Patton that Reggie was covering for Virgil, who they could easily see was extremely nervous about the ride. His eyes kept flicking up and looking at the signs and at the tracks that looped around in the distance, he visibly flinched whenever there was a loud screaming from the rides around him. Ever the good friends, the two didn’t bring it up.

“Okay, babe. You two go have _your_ fun and we’ll meet somewhere for lunch, I guess.” Abigal popped up onto her toes in order to press a simple kiss to Reggie’s lips before she stepped closer to the ride, waiting for Patton to join her.

“Yeah! I can’t wait to hear what you two get up to!” Patton kissed Virgil’s cheek and grinned before joining Abigal.

The other two waited until their significant others reached the line before heading off back towards the main section of the park. They walked in silence for a bit, Virgil still trying to calm his nerves back to their usual levels.

He looked up to the older student who he was now apparently going to spend most of his day with, “Hey… Thanks for that…” Virgil mumbled, returning his gaze back down to watch the paving stones as they walked, “You didn’t have to, you could have gone on the ride with them…”

Reggie simply smiled, watching the shy boy next to him, “I didn’t make anything up back there. I do not need this perfection going to waste on some rides, besides it can’t be fun to just wait for everyone else on your own when you’re freaking out.”

Virgil felt a soft smile tugging at his lips, “Yeah, it’s kinda the worst thing.”

“See? I’m just being the nice person I normally am.” Reggie grinned as Virgil gave him a disbelieving look.

“You? A nice person? That’s a pretty funny joke.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do I have to bring up the first few years of high school?”

Reggie stopped dead and stared at Virgil with an open mouth, making various unhappy gasping noises. After a few seconds to think, Reggie walked the few paces to where Virgil was watching him with an amused grin before he spoke, “That is unfair. You don’t bring up a past like that.”

“Uh huh, whatever you say, Princess.” Virgil couldn’t help laughing as Reggie made more insulted noises beside him.

The two ended up at the arcade and spent most of their day in there, playing various games. Virgil had far more skill at almost every game they played, except for when they played any of the dancing games the arcade had set up. Virgil went first and did fairly well on medium difficulty, but he could not have been prepared for when Reggie got up there and absolutely demolished a song on the hardest difficulty without even really trying. The older boy went through a few different songs, drawing in a curious and impressed crowd within just the first two. Virgil watched as he thrived from the attention, especially at the end when some of the crowd – mostly the parents with young children – applauded his efforts.

Reggie hopped down off of the machine with a confident grin and an ego that could barely fit inside the building, “So, what’s next?”

Virgil snorted and headed over to a completely different game, “I kick your ass and bring your ego back to a manageable size, so we can all breathe.”

After an hour of absolute domination, Virgil deemed Reggie’s ego thoroughly beaten and they took a break to sit outside on a bench. They were both more comfortable with each other, joking around a lot more and just generally talking about stuff that neither of them would have considered talking about in the past. Virgil learned more about Reggie’s family and why he was currently living on his own in an apartment in America and Reggie learned a lot more about Virgil and his anxiety and his past with Patton.

On the other side of the park, Abigal and Patton had just come out of the final ride they’d wanted to go on. They were still giddy with adrenaline and were giggling together.

“I guess we should go find our boyfriends?” Patton asked, becoming happier and even more giggly as he said the final words. He went to reach for his bag in order to pull out his phone but found himself interrupted by Abigal.

“Yeah, I think it’s time to get food. I am absolutely starving!” Abigal grabbed Patton’s arm and pulled him along behind her as she ran back to the central area of the park. It was only for a few seconds, but it managed to divert Patton’s attention away from getting his phone and meant that the two ended up simply wandering casually to the centre. Once they got there, they quickly noticed their two boyfriends chatting happily on a bench outside the arcade.

Patton immediately felt his heart bloom with warmth as he saw Virgil smiling and being so relaxed. He’d been worried ever since seeing the emo that morning since the boy really didn’t seem all that excited about coming to the theme park, but all that worry was now a distant memory. Patton joined Abigal in slowly walking over to them.

What he didn’t join in with was her sneaking up to the back of the bench and surprising Reggie by wrapping her arms around him and calling directly into his ear, “Boo!” She grinned as the boy in her arms turned sharply to look at her.

Virgil turned around to see Patton standing just to the side of him, also grinning. He moved over on the bench, giving Patton just enough room to perch on the end. Virgil’s arm wrapped around his boyfriend’s shoulders, giving him a gentle hug.

“Soooo, how about we talk about everything we’ve been up to over some lunch?” Abigal suggested. Everyone was more than happy to go along with that plan and they headed over to one of the restaurants inside the park to eat. They happily recounted their mornings and had an overall good time. The last part of the day was more relaxed, as they all spent the time together and went on easier, chill rides and did other activities.

Virgil was exhausted but feeling really good as he and Patton climbed into the back of his dad’s car later in the afternoon. They’d said their goodbyes to their friends and were heading home. Everything was so utterly perfect and Virgil could not have been more pleased that he’d made the decision to go out on the double date to a theme park with his friends.


	28. Last Day

Once they got back to school, everyone in the group was made aware of Abigal’s extremely fortunate situation with her dad as well as how the double date went.

“Your dad owns the theme park?!” Sophia’s mouth dropped open.

Abigal reached out and pushed her mouth shut with a giggle, “Yeah, and the water park next to it and kinda everything else around it.”

“And you can get people in for free?” Ana butted in, clearly very interested.

“For the most part, yeah. If it’s more than like four people or something, I have to let my dad know and have him approve it, but yeah, I can.”

Suddenly, the conversation turned into Ana and Sophia trying to convince Abigal to take them to the water park next time they were all free, while others such as Asher and Em were attempting to talk them out of it as it was pretty bad to try and abuse such an opportunity. As most of them were thinking about their exams later in the year, they knew they would eventually have large amounts of free time that they could use to hang out more.

Patton was enjoying watching the two sides playfully argue with one another, more than happy that a lot of the focus was off of him and Virgil’s new relationship. It had obviously been stressful for Virgil to be the centre of attention the week before, with everyone asking questions and trying to get every single scrap of information from them. Now that they were occupied with a new development, Patton could tell that Virgil was a lot more comfortable and more like himself. He was even chiming in on the current argument with his quips that everyone was used to at this point.

But then Patton remembered that this was the last year they would all be able to hang out like this. Reggie was only still around because he currently was helping out at the reception office of the school, which was only a temporary thing while he worked out things in order to stay in America. He was taking a couple of extra classes as well, just in order to really prepare himself for the university that he was going to in the year after. The reason for him taking a year out was actually a part of the next of Patton’s thoughts. Both Asher and Abigal were a year above most of them and were in their final year, meaning that they would be leaving once their exams were over. The saddest part for Patton was when he remembered that Ayana was the only one of their group that was a year below him, meaning that in two years, she would left alone without any of them. Patton’s group that had been his rock for all this time was going to start breaking apart very soon and that was extremely upsetting.

“We should go during summer. Before you guys go.” Patton said, his voice sounding just a little bit choked.

Everyone fell silent. Patton quickly smiled and cleared his throat, in an attempt to cover up the sadness he was currently feeling. Virgil’s arm that was wrapped around him tightened, while everyone else reflected on his words. No one had actually verbally brought up the fact that some of them were leaving soon, until now and it seemed like some had just been forced to accept it as fact.

“Patton’s right.” Abigal spoke up eventually, a determined fire in her eyes. “I’ll make sure we can. One last big thing, y’know? Something huge and fun we can all remember!” She was suddenly extremely intense. Her phone was in her hand in a flash, typing rapidly.

Everything slowly went back to normal, everyone chatting about whatever came to their mind, but there was this underlying sadness. Patton felt horrible for causing it, but he didn’t know how to fix it. He decided to just keep being himself. Acting upset and pulling away from everyone would just make things worse, being who he was and just being normal would allow people to see that nothing would change once they all moved onto the next part of their lives.

As the year progressed, Abigal and Asher had to spend more and more time away due to exam preparation and all of that, as did a lot of the others, meaning that some lunchtimes only a small group of them were around for the whole hour.

Patton made it a goal of his to always be there. He would hate to leave Ayana on her own and he never knew who was going to be free the next day, so he took all of his work over there and did some of it while hanging out with her. The two got closer with each day, Patton even finding out how smart Ayana was. She was able to quickly pick up on a lot of the material Patton was having difficulties with in his revision, meaning that she was able to help him a lot.

The end of the school year was just a week away. Abigal and Asher had already completed all of their exams and had no reason to come to school, but they did make their way over once a week just to hang out at lunch, usually bringing extra special snacks to share just because they could. Almost everyone else was done with all of their exams and were just relaxing now, which meant that Ayana was no longer in danger of being left alone. Patton was the last one to finish his exams, with his final one being on the day before school ended. Thankfully, it was before lunch, so he was able to completely relax once he rounded the corner and found the benches.

Just as he sat down, his phone buzzed in his bag. He sluggishly reached in and found the device, immediately seeing that it was a notification on the group chat. Patton opened it curiously.

_CatMom: GUYS. KEEP YOURSELF FREE FOR THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO THE WATER PARK!  
CatMom: Also, there’s a surprise for that which you’ll just all have to wait to find out and I promise it’s a good one that will actually cause everyone a ton less stress._

Responses flooded the chat in an instant and Patton immediately felt his body humming with excitement. That lunch was filled with excited chatter. Sophia pulled up the park’s website and was listing off what it had, which got people even more excited. Patton was not only so happy that he was going to be able to spend a day during summer with all of his friends having an amazing time, but he was also so pleased that this was something Virgil was actually looking forward to, if his reaction to the whole thing was anything to go by.

The last day of school came and went and the three weeks after were filled with chatter on the group chat, several smaller meetups and many casual dates with Virgil. Patton could not recall a time when he was happier than he currently was. At least, until the day of the water park trip came.

Virgil’s dad dropped both of them off just like he’d done before, telling them to be safe and call him later. Virgil promised and shut the door, linking hands with Patton as they headed over to the entrance where they could already see a lot of their friends.

“Hey guys!” Patton called out, waving with his free hand as some of them turned around.

They all chatted causally for a while, waiting for Abigal to appear. Patton had totally forgotten about the whole ‘surprise’ part that she’d mentioned, but Virgil was very aware of it and was feeling his nerves start to come into play. He squeezed Patton’s hand a little in response, which was their way of asking for support. Patton responded with a gentle hug that wouldn’t arouse suspicions among their friends, as it was a fairly normal thing for them both to do.

Finally, the girl they were all waiting for turned up.

“Hello, hello!” Abigal addressed them all with a posh voice, “I hope you are all excited to have some watery fun today! Follow me through the gates!” All of them filed one by one through the turnstile, with Virgil and Patton giving each other confused glances. They both had noticed that Abigal had not spoken to anyone or shown anyone her card like she had the last time, but they both trusted her. Virgil glanced to the booth as he passed, noticing that no one was in there. Now, he was even more confused. He was so distracted that he bummed into Patton who’d stopped just in front of him.

Everyone got to see the park and the fact it was completely empty besides them.

Abigal threw her arms wide, spinning to face them all with a wide grin, “Surprise! It’s all for us today!!”

Disbelieving looks and stunned silence immediately followed her statement as everyone expected this to be a joke. Then, in a split second, everyone was excitedly cheering. They all headed off into the changing rooms to put their belongings away and change into their swim gear.

Patton was one of the first out of the changing rooms and he jumped straight into the water, sighing contently as he floated on the surface.

“LOOK OUT!” was the only warning he had to dodge the incoming Sophia, who was closely followed by Ana. Both of them cannonballed into the water almost directly next to each other, causing water to splash in Patton’s face. From the side of the pool, they could hear the employees who were called in to be their lifeguards telling them to be careful, but Patton knew that his two friends were pretty much going to destroy every single rule they could today.

Most of their group were out in the pool within minutes, but it took a fair bit longer for both Ayana and Abigal to come out. Once they finally emerged, they were greeted with shouts and questions about what took them so long. Ayana curled the towel she was hiding in around herself tighter while Abigal sighed and put her hands to her hips, “Um hello? Have you even looked at us?” She indicated to their hair, “Hi, we’re gingers and we’re fucking pale as shit. Have you guys ever heard of sunscreen before?”

“What is that?” Reggie asked, a playful smile tugging at his lips. He shielded himself from the gentle swats his girlfriend began to throw towards him before grabbing a hold of her and throwing her into the water. Everyone laughed as Abigal surfaced with a pout.

People began to split off into groups as some of them wanted to do different things. Sophia climbed out of the pool and challenged Ana, Abigal, Virgil and Reggie to the obstacle course. “Of course, everyone else can join as well. I just hope you like losing!”

Immediately, Ana was fired up. They clambered out and practically ran to the start of the floating obstacle course, starting it before anyone else could catch up. Abigal laughed and followed, also finding her competitive spirit being toyed with. Everyone else decided to watch from a distance as all three of them failed multiple times at first.

Thomas had noticed there was some foam-coated water guns hung up in a shed pretty close by and grabbed one. He filled it up with the water tank just next to it and fired a quick shot over to the pool, hitting Asher on the back of the head. The boy laughed as his unwitting target yelped in surprise and turned sharply.

“You wanna fight?” Asher grinned after realising what had happened, pulling themself out of the pool and walking slowly over. They grabbed their own water gun and started to fill it up, “You have until I’m done with this to run.”

Thomas jogged away, laughing the whole time. Only a few seconds later, Asher came after him. The two started an all-out battle, hiding around things and diving in the water to avoid shots. They managed to recruit everyone else onto teams and a war began.

Asher, Ayana and Virgil were on one team while Thomas, Daniel and Patton were on the other. They used all of the space available to them, but still tried to stay in sight of their vaguely impartial judges – Em and Reggie.

Em was happily floating in the main pool, relaxing as she kept score. She did eventually realise that was technically alone in the water, as Reggie was sat on the edge and just dangling his feet in the water. She swam over to him, “Hey, aren’t you gonna come in and swim?”

Reggie shrugged and watched the water gun fight happening in the distance between Virgil and Thomas, before laying down against the bricks with his hands under his head.  “I just wanna enjoy the sun. Besides,” He indicated to his braided hair that was already in a tight knot at the back of his head. “I am not getting this wet.”

As if he’d called up the gods, Asher ran past, and Daniel aimed for him but managed to slip a little on the slightly wet ground. He lost his grip on the water gun and it fell to the ground, causing the water tank on the back to burst open. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the collected water drenched Reggie’s entire head and face. Em’s mouth dropped open as she gasped loudly, and Daniel stopped dead in his tracks, looking as if he was about to pass out from fear. Everyone else lowered their own water guns and slowly headed over to see what was happening.

Reggie wiped his face and stood slowly. He headed over to the water guns and grabbed one for himself. His eyes were blazing when he turned around after filling it. “Run.” was all he said before chasing each of them down. There were no teams anymore, just Reggie against them all.

Virgil dropped out soon after and went to just chill in the pool. He handed the water gun to Em, who happily joined in. He just floated around in the water, not really paying much attention to anything else. So, when his head bumped against something soft, he couldn’t help but jolt slightly in surprise.

“Hey.” Patton smiled down at him, a fond look in his eyes, “You mind if I join you?”

Virgil laughed, “Feel free.”

The couple swam around a little, mostly making small talk and laughing at their friends’ antics. They came to rest at the edge of the shallow end. Virgil had long since given up trying to keep up with the group running around and was instead focused on his boyfriend.

“Your idea was great.” Virgil said softly. Patton turned to look at him, his wet hair plastering itself to the side of his face. Virgil pushed it back into its usual spot gently, “This is really nice.”

Patton grinned, “Oh, I’m so happy to hear that, Virgie! I was worried you wouldn’t like it! Especially considering the whole theme park stuff before!”

Virgil let out a soft huff of laughter, which had Patton giggling along with him. It was a moment where the world seemed to just fall away around them; the shouts of their friends and the splashes of water were distant and unrelated to both of the teens. Something compelled Virgil to do something, he was close enough to count the freckles that dotted Patton’s face. Slowly and without much thought, he pressed his lips to Patton’s so gently as if he was worried Patton would be upset. All the doubt was immediately washed away as Patton kissed back, his hand coming to rest on Virgil’s face. Even under the water, Virgil could tell Patton’s skin was so soft. His own hand had come to rest just above his boyfriend’s hip, just barely holding him.

A sudden squirt of water against their faces had them jumping apart.

“Hey! That was rude, don’t interrupt them!” Virgil looked up to see Em scolding her partner, snatching the water gun out of their hands. Ana only laughed in response.

Sophia peered down at them from above, “We were looking for you two. We’re all about to go battle it out on the climbing thing over there and I need both of you on my team.”

“No fair! You’ll have 6 people!” Abigal shouted from behind her.

Patton immediately was clambering out of the pool, almost slipping back in once or twice, while Abigal and Sophia argued over whether or not someone could count as two people. Virgil followed his boyfriend out, a little more poised in his execution. Apparently, the debate had been decided as the rest of the group were already fighting it out. Virgil and Patton hurried over to join in.

For the first few rounds, the two teams took turns being inside the climbing frame. One would attempt to use the water guns to shoot the others outside and use cover to hide from their opponents’ attacks, while the outside team would be trying to shoot the ones inside with water gun and additional cannons that sat just outside it. The game would end when all of one team were eliminated. After that game had run its course, a game of water tag was played around on the frame.

The end of the day was spent far more calmly. They took a break to have some food, courtesy of Abigal’s father who stopped by to see how they were doing, before they all spent time in the main pool with some floating toys. Reggie spent some of it pouting as his braids were starting to fall apart now that they were soaked, but – after each person tried – it turned out Virgil was actually really good at working with his hair. This meant the emo was put in charge of re-braiding Reggie’s hair, which he wasn’t all too upset about. They both sat at the edge of the pool, chatting with their friends and generally just having a good time.

Throughout the whole day, Patton and a few of the others - mostly Ayana and Em - were taking pictures with everyone and of everyone, giving them all a way to remember their final big day together before they all headed their separate ways.

They all stood outside the entrance to the park saying goodbye. It wouldn’t be their last time before some of them headed off to college or university or wherever they were going, but it was likely the last time all of them would be together in one place for a while, so there was a definite air of finality and sadness.

Patton gave each of them an enormous hug, especially the three older ones. He thanked each of them from the bottom of his heart, making Abigal openly cry and the others all at least tear up a little. He climbed into the back of Virgil’s dad’s car and waved to them all as they drove away. He wasn’t going to lie, he did feel sad and that was his reasoning for gripping Virgil’s hand so tightly, but he knew they’d all be okay. They’d stay in contact, he’d make sure of it.


	29. Final Year

The school year that followed was odd and that all started on the first day back. Something was always feeling like it was missing now that Abigal, Asher and Reggie had left the school. Everything felt a little more subdued and quiet when the year began as Sophia no longer had anyone to argue with in the same way she did with Abigal. Virgil was also feeling a little strange. Sure, he’d only gotten relatively close with Reggie near the end of the last year, but it suddenly felt so strange to not be able to just turn and talk with him.

The whole atmosphere was oppressive; everyone was feeling the strain, but Ayana was taking it the worst.

She was the only one who would be left next year. This meant that she would have this year where everyone seemed to be different and more downplayed than usual. She would then have to make it through a year where she’d have no one. She currently only had the odd friend from her classes that she rarely even spoke to outside of her main friend group.

It was only the second week back when Patton rounded the corner and entered their usual spot to find Ayana curled up in the far corner, shaking with silent sobs. His heart broke at seeing his friend so torn up and he immediately walked over to sit next to her.

“Ayana…?” Patton made sure to speak softly and far in advance of him getting too close, giving Ayana the chance to react. He watched as she turned sharply towards him, looking like a scared child that was just caught doing something they shouldn’t. She wiped her eyes quickly, scrubbing at her face harshly in order to hide any trace of her tears. Patton acted fast, pulling her hands away before she could hurt herself, “Hey, hey… it’s okay, you don’t have to pretend you weren’t crying.”

Ayana sniffled but didn’t try to get out of Patton’s hold. She avoided his eyes entirely, looking down at the ground beneath them instead. Patton gently loosened his grip on her wrists and dropped them before crouching down in front of her.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” When he noticed that Ayana bit her lip and seemed to be conflicted, he tried to press her a little bit more, “It might help… No one else is here, it’s just us. I won’t tell anyone, unless you want me to.”

“I…” Ayana began to speak but was suddenly choked up, her arms wrapping around herself tightly as she began to shake again. She raised her head just slightly, so she could look at Patton through her fresh tears, “I don’t want to be alone... I don’t wanna go back to before I met you…” She whispered before breaking down into silent sobs yet again.

Patton was immediately there, wrapping the small girl in a gentle hug. Almost immediately after his arms made contact with her body, Ayana wrapped her arms around him and held tightly, as if she was worried he would disappear if she didn’t. Patton was honestly surprised, he’d never expect such a thing from her, but he quickly accepted it and simply comforted her by gently rubbing her back as she cried.

A soft distressed noise alerted Patton to a sudden new presence and he was immediately on the defensive.

“Ayana… what’s up?”

Patton then found he could relax as Virgil slipped into the space beside Ayana. He seemed to want to join the embrace, but the emo decided it wouldn’t be the best thing for her right now and stayed back, giving her the space.

Ayana turned her head to look at her friend, sobs still wracking her body. Both of the teens were able to see that she was trying to get a grip of herself, but she seemed utterly unable to hold it together. She looked almost pleadingly up to Patton before burying her face against his shoulder once more, her arms tightening at the same time.

Patton understood what she wanted and addressed Virgil, telling him the very brief thing she’d said and his own thoughts on the matter. The teen watched as his boyfriend’s heart broke and his gaze turned worried as he looked down to Ayana. Virgil reached out and lightly rested a hand on Ayana’s shoulder, attempting to comfort her as well.

They all didn’t move for a good few minutes. Ayana’s sobs and shaking slowed over time and, when she was ready, she pulled away from Patton and looked between both of her friends, wiping her eyes, “Thank you… both of you…”

Patton said he’d be right back and ran off to get some tissue from one of the nearby bathrooms, leaving the other two alone.

“I’m sorry…” Virgil muttered, now looking at the ground himself.

Ayana tilted her head in confusion, “Why are you sorry? I should be sorry…”

“What? No! You have every right to be upset.”

“You don’t have a reason to be sorry then.”

Virgil almost flinched in surprise and he sharply turned to look at Ayana, who had covered her mouth with her hand. That was the first time she’d ever said anything like that to anyone, especially in such a sassy tone of voice. Virgil began to suppress his laughter, “Looks like we’ve all started to rub off on you.” Ayana blushed a little but started to giggle quietly alongside her friend.

Patton returned with his hands full of tissues but stopped in the entrance to their little hideaway and looked at his two friends with confusion. He ended up smiling as he crouched back down in front of them both, handing Ayana the tissues, “I’m happy to see you two laughing. Feeling better, Ayana?”

The younger student blew her nose so quietly it was almost inaudible before nodding, “A little…”

“Do you wanna still talk a little bit?” Patton moved to lean against the wall next to the bench, still staying in front of Ayana, watching as she fidgeted with the used tissue in her hand.

There was a moment where she seemed to be considering what she wanted to say, but slowly her mouth opened, and she spoke, “I’m… scared… for when you guys… leave…” Ayana avoided looking at both of them still, “I don’t really have other friends… so… you know, next year… I won’t have anyone…”

Both Virgil and Patton glanced to each other as Ayana spoke. Neither of them knew what to say, they were both aware that none of them would be around for the next year, at least as far as they knew. Virgil and Patton were both heading off to college and, from the discussions the rest of the group had had the week prior, most of the others seemed to be planning on it as well.

Virgil was clearly panicked as he looked to Patton for help. He clearly wanted to help his close friend out but had no clue on what to do at all, so it was all up to Patton to lead the way.

“It’s true that you might be alone physically here, but you know that you will always be able to message us if you need anything. Even if you start to think we’ll be too busy or that you’d be annoying us, just remember that we all care about you so much!” Patton smiled up at the shy girl, who’d looked at him with concern when he’d started talking.

“Yeah,” Virgil added on, “I’ll totally want updates on how things are going here, especially the music stuff.”

They then took turns adding on what each of them and their friends would be interested in, which got Ayana to smile a little more. Patton finished up their rambling with, “and the thing we’ll all be most interested in is you and how you’re doing. You know we’ll all be worried about you, Ayana. You’re our friend and I’m sure we will all be thinking about how you’re doing. So, don’t you ever feel like you’ll be bothering us with messages next year, or at any time!”

Ayana sniffled, her eyes welling up with more tears as she smiled, “Thank you… I’ll try…”

“What are you doing on the floor?”

“Ayana! What’s wrong!?”

“AYA!”

Suddenly, half of their group appeared. Both Ana and Em practically flung themselves towards the shy student. This made Virgil have to scoot down the bench a little in order to not be crushed by their two concerned friends. They began to fawn over her, making sure she was okay. It was clear Ayana was used to their specific kind of coddling as she only giggled and quietly answered their questions when they gave her a chance to.

Thomas and Sophia took seats on the empty bench opposite, with Sophia still looking at Patton, “Seriously, why are you on the ground?”

Patton laughed a little, “Because I wanted to!” He slowly managed to get up, having a few difficulties as Ana and Em were sort of in his way, but he did eventually fall onto the bench and cuddle up to Virgil.

“Okay!” Ana yelled, getting everyone’s attention, “It is decided! Me and Em are taking a year out, so we can hang with Ayana! Anyone else with us?!”

Ayana was clearly flustered as she seemed to be trying very quietly to convince both of them that it wasn’t necessary, that she’d be fine, they didn’t need to do something like that for her.

Em just smiled warmly at the younger teen, “Ana was thinking about having a year off of school anyway. They don’t know if they even want to go to college, and I don’t mind trying out different things. I’d feel awful just leaving you alone.”

“Yeah! We won’t leave you!” Ana threw their fist into the air with extra enthusiasm, getting everyone to at least chuckle a little.

After that lunch, everything seemed to go back to normal. There was still the looming air of change around them as they still had to get used to the fact that their loudest was suddenly gone, but Ana and Sophia were doing overtime to make up for the missing presence. As the year progressed, the feeling seemed to disappear, especially as they sometimes were able to chat with their absent friends over the phone and they all tended to send a few messages in the group chat after school.

The year seemed to pass by in a blur of revision sessions, exam preparation and talk of their futures. Each teacher was drilling everything they could possibly need for the exams and coursework into their already over-stuffed brains, having them write practice essay after practice essay as they had nothing else to teach. Virgil was so happy that two of his classes were music and art, which only required him to hand in a portfolio of his work throughout the year and for him him to do a final performance of three songs that he’d spent the year creating. It gave him a little more time to relax, compared to the rest of his friends who were hardly having any free time. Despite all of that, they all kept meeting over the months and Virgil’s relationship with Patton was becoming stronger by the day, especially when they took some time after school to relax and go on short dates in what was now their secret park.

As the exams and the end of the year loomed, he found himself getting overwhelmed by the expectations of his teachers and the stress and anxiety he got from exams in general. That meant that he felt so extremely lucky to have such a good group of friends for his last year of school as they kept him grounded during it all.

One night, he was sat at his desk with his laptop open to their group chat as he took a break from his English literature revision. He was busy complaining about it with Sophia and Daniel specifically, music blasting loudly through his over-the-ear headphones. Through all of it, however, he was able to make out something happening downstairs. He slipped the headphones off, resting them around his neck and paused his music, listening intently but the loud voices had stopped suddenly. All he could hear were heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and then a loud slam from across the hall.

He wanted to get back to revision, but he really wasn’t able to concentrate after that. Virgil’s mind was racing with the possibilities of what that could have possibly been about. He was talking about it in the group chat when his bedroom door was pushed open by his older brother, who he’d not seen properly in a few years.

“Oh, hey Logan. When did you get home?” Virgil spun in his chair, trying to look as casual as possible so he didn’t alert his brother to his current emotional drama.

“I got home earlier today but was busy sorting out my things.” Logan was clearly very tense and was not here for small talk. He sighed deeply, “May I come in?”

“Uh, yeah sure?” Virgil responded. He pulled his headphones off and set them on top of his keyboard before heading to sit on his unmade bed with his brother beside him, “What’s up?”

Just as Logan was about to speak, both of their parents appeared in Virgil’s doorway. “Should have known you’d already be in here.” His father smiled, entering the room.

Virgil was now worried. His entire family never got together like this besides dinner unless something serious was happening. The last time it had he was very young, but he remembered this happened and he found out about his grandfather’s passing. For now, he waited as his mom came and sat the other side of him and his dad took his desk chair, sighing heavily.

“What did you tell him?” His father asked, clearly exhausted.

“I haven’t managed to say anything yet.”

“Ah… brilliant…” Jason dragged a hand down his face before speaking again, “Virgil. I’m very sorry to tell you like this but… we’re moving.”


	30. Moving

Virgil could not speak. His mouth simply hung open as he stared at his father. He was almost praying that he heard him wrong. There was no way they were moving. Not right now. He still had exams to do. He had school to finish. He had Patton. They couldn’t be leaving.

“Now, we’re not going straight away. We are waiting until you finish school this year…” His father continued, speaking softly as if he was worried his son would explode if he spoke too loudly.

“B-but… why?! Why do we have to move?!” Virgil managed to choke out after a couple of minutes.

Awkward silence followed as each member of his family looked between themselves. Logan seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable, shifting his weight around as the silence dragged on. “Well… there were things happening, while you were busy with school, Virgil…” Logan avoided his brother’s gaze when Virgil turned to him.

“What things?”

His parents then went on to describe just what Virgil had been missing while he was focusing on his life.

Once Logan had moved away to university, they had all been banking on the whole Roman fiasco being over and done with, but life seemed to want nothing more than to force to the two young men together. It turned out that not only had they both been accepted and gone to the same university, but they had also been put into the same dorm, on the same floor, just across the hall from each other. Of course, this had posed a major problem and Logan had come home exhausted and frustrated each and every time a holiday or break rolled around. He detailed exactly what had been going on to his parents, discussing with them possible ways to have it all end. Eventually, they had been separated by the university when there were multiple complaints from not only Logan, but others living on the same floor.

That had only seemed to fuel Roman’s rage even more, as he started bringing his obnoxious campaign outside into the campus and into his classes. It was during the Christmas break that Logan had suggested to his parents that they move before Roman fully completed his course, before he returned to the house across the street and made everyone’s lives change once more. They’d argued quietly in the background, avoiding bringing Virgil into the drama. They didn’t want to affect the anxious teen’s new relationship and his new-found happiness. It was only once Logan had returned this time that things escalated to new heights.

Roman had spent most of his holidays on campus, preferring to enjoy his new freedom for as long as he could, which meant that Logan got a break from his ridiculous vendetta every time he came home. But Roman had been able to finish his degree just as quickly as Logan and had been leaving at the same time. They returned home and Roman managed to see Logan across the street and began to harass him, bragging loudly about all his accomplishments at university and still trying his hardest to get a rise out of Logan. When Roman turned and brought both Virgil and Patton into it, that was when Logan had reached his breaking point.

The arrogant boy had no right to even think about those two. He had no right to suddenly start comparing them as if Patton were like him. Logan was seething with rage but managed to keep it to himself as he entered the house. He’d let it out in front of his parents, which was what Virgil had just missed a little while ago. The sudden realisation that Roman was back was what really put the final nail in the coffin for the Mortensons. They were not ready to deal with this again. They needed to get away.

Virgil had sat quietly and listened intently through the whole explanation, growing more and more angry as it went on. Partially, he was putting the blame on the adults – both his and Patton’s parents - for not standing up to someone so much younger than them, but he was definitely the angriest at Roman.

“So, that is why we are moving, sweetheart.” His mom pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head, “We really don’t want to pull you away from your friends, which is why we made the decision to wait until you finish school.”

Virgil was utterly enraged and still in shock. He never thought this would happen. His sudden clear vision of his future was fading very quickly in front of his eyes.

“We’ll leave you to think about it… okay?” His dad asked, reaching out and resting a hand on his son’s knee. Once Virgil nodded, he stood and left the room with the rest of the family. There was a moment where he lingered in the doorway, as if he wanted to say something, but he clearly thought better and just shut the door.

Virgil sat in the dark room, listening to the silence. Deep down, he knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t stop the move, no matter how much he wished and prayed for some kind of divine intervention.

The teen didn’t move from the bed for the rest of the night. He was too busy trying to process every single thing that was running through his mind. Virgil crawled under the covers, pulled one of the soft toys Patton had gifted him and cuddled it tightly. There was a thought that, if he went to sleep, maybe he would wake up and it would all be just an awful, awful dream.

There was a soft knock at his bedroom door. Virgil ignored it. He didn’t want to see any of them right now. His door clicked open and he could hear the sound of it moving over the carpet as whoever was outside stepped into his room.

“Virgie?”

Virgil was immediately sitting up straight. He stared at Patton, fear lacing every single part of his face that was able to express emotion.  _What is he doing here? Why now? I have to tell him. How do I tell him? He’s going to hate me. He’s going to be so upset. Oh my god, why?_

The gentle hug that Patton gave him as he knelt on the bed next to him had every one of Virgil’s emotions hitting him at once. The emo was immediately crying. He turned and held onto Patton tightly, sobbing openly and loudly for the first time. His usual source of comfort, being in Patton’s arms, was not working anymore. In fact, it only made him even more upset as he was already believing that he wouldn’t be able to experience this for much longer. As he was hiding his face, Virgil was unaware that Patton was extremely distressed that he was in such a state. Patton had no idea what was going on - in his world, his boyfriend had just started crying in his arms for no reason.

“Virgil…?” Patton gently coaxed Virgil to look at him once his sobs began to slow. He held his boyfriend’s face in his hands, using thumbs to wipe away the tear tracks that were streaming down Virgil’s cheeks, “Do you want to talk?”

Virgil shook his head. He wasn’t even sure if he would be able to speak right now, let alone tell Patton what was going on. He just wanted to sit in Patton’s arms for a little longer, burn that memory and feeling into his mind as best he could.

Eventually, Virgil did find his voice. He avoided looking at Patton, preferring to stare off into the corner of his room, “…We’re moving…” Virgil muttered.

Pure silence followed his statement. Patton’s arms around him seemed to just fall away as if all his strength had disappeared from his body.

“Oh…” was all Patton could say in response. It hurt Virgil deeply, he sounded so upset and confused. “When?”

“The end of the school year… They didn’t say exactly when…”

Virgil was wrapped in Patton’s arms again, tighter this time. “Well, we still have some time. Let’s make the best of it!”

The emo looked up to his boyfriend, his eyes shining with tears again. The sunny grin and positive aura emanating from Patton was exactly what he needed right now. Virgil buried his face against Patton once more, trying hard not to cry again, “Fuck you and your positivity…”

“Virgil. Language.”

The two teens laughed together for a moment before falling back into silence. They moved to be more comfortable, so they were mostly laying down on Virgil’s mess of a bed. It was clear that they were both thinking hard about something, though it was not entirely obvious what each was thinking about. Virgil was worried that Patton was going to stress about making every day important before he left, when all he wanted was to live normally until the moving day came.

“Have you ever heard of promise rings?”

Virgil pushed himself up a little, so he could look at Patton as he shook his head, “Not really.”

Patton excitedly explained, “It’s like a ring that promises that you’ll be together for a long time, no matter what! It’s like to show that a relationship is super strong and really good! What if we used something like that? We could have all our friends around and do like a ceremony thing, would be so cute!” Patton was clearly vividly picturing something akin to a wedding and Virgil was concerned but decided to play along anyway.

They spent the next hour discussing Patton’s idea, figuring out what they would give each other in place of actual rings, where they would have this ‘ceremony’ Patton wanted, how they’d have everyone around with them and set any extra things up. As they talked more and more, Virgil found himself coming around to the idea. It sounded really nice and so wonderfully Patton.

He knew they wouldn’t be apart too long as they were inevitably going to meet again when they headed off to the same university, but it was the simple fact that they would be apart for more time. If they went home to their families for holidays or breaks, they’d be apart no matter what now. Virgil would be stuck far away from his beloved boyfriend with the knowledge that Patton was having to deal with his awful older brother and disinterested, apathetic parents. He was sure that he would never be able to relax if that was to happen, but the idea of having this promise ceremony and making these promises to each other might comfort him a little.

“Let’s do it in the park.” Virgil interrupted Patton’s ramblings about the smaller details of this semi-hypothetical plan.

There seemed to be a moment where Patton thought he misheard him, “You want to actually do this?”

Virgil shrugged, his face blushing a little, “I mean, yeah, why not… sounds nice, I guess…”

Patton was fully aware this was Virgil talk for ‘Yes please but don’t make a huge deal out of it’. He simply giggled and squeezed his boyfriend, “Okay, let’s do it! When should we plan it for?”

Virgil made a quick trip downstairs to ask his parents for the date they’d planned for the move and returned to Patton with the information. Immediately, they were contacting their friends to let them know they had something to discuss with them all tomorrow at school, while also finding out if their older friends were free to be on the phone with them during their lunch break. They vaguely hinted at what it was in order to quiet the worried messages that their friends sent back but promised to explain everything when they could meet in person. Virgil was feeling a lot calmer after all of this. He still wasn’t happy about the move, but at least they had this last thing planned that would be a lasting memory.

All of a sudden, he jumped up and headed towards his wardrobe. Virgil dug through the pile of clothing that was laying at the bottom, clearly searching for something specific. Patton sat up, putting his phone to the side as he watched his boyfriend with tentative curiosity, “Virgie? What are you looking for?”

Virgil made a frustrated noise as he dug through the black fabric, “I know I had it here… I saw it the other day…Aha!” He grasped a hold of a small book and almost ripped it out of the dark pile, holding it close to his chest as he made his way back over to Patton.

The other teen was immediately able to recognise the tattered book as the scrapbook he’d almost had a chance to look at when he first came into Virgil’s room. He was extremely excited as he felt like now he’d finally be able to see what was inside the mysterious book that had plagued his mind every now and then. Patton tried not to express this outwardly as Virgil sat next to him, book set in his lap.

Virgil seemed a little embarrassed by the little book. He stalled for a moment, waring with himself before handing the book to Patton, “Uh, you should… look at this…”

Patton carefully handled the fragile looking scrapbook, not wanting to break anything. He wasn’t sure how old this was, or what it contained so he wanted to just be careful. Cautiously, he opened the front cover to see two crayon scrawled words he had not looked at in so long. He traced his fingers over the waxy misspelling of their names, a gentle smile forming as he remembered their first day of preschool.

The next page held a pressed daisy chain that had Patton sharply looking up at Virgil, his own eyes now looking slightly teary, “You kept it?”

Virgil flushed a darker pink and rubbed the back of his neck as he normally did when he felt awkward, “I mean, yeah… I felt bad that it was dying after a day… Logan actually suggested it and helped me then…”

Patton was shocked. The older brother who’d dragged his best friend away from him back in middle school, who slowly learnt to trust him and not see him as ‘Roman’s Little Brother’ helped Virgil all the way back then to preserve a memory that involved Patton without even knowing. Tears of joy rolled down his face as he thought about it, it was so darn precious that he just couldn’t help himself.

Page after page was turned, each being filled with some new memory that brought Patton back to that time. Pictures from them hanging out over summers, more pressed flowers and interpretations of things they’d written to each other across the windows, a small piece of the song Virgil had written for him and an image of the book Patton had made for Virgil. This small, beat up scrapbook was filled to bursting with all of the best memories both of them had ever shared. Upon reaching the final page that was filled with pictures of them and their friends at the water park, Patton put the book aside and practically tackled his boyfriend to his bed, pressing kisses all over his face.

Virgil laughed and attempted to dodge most of the kisses playfully but was more than happy to accept them. They ended up cuddling on his bed, flicking through the scrapbook once more and reminiscing together. The fact they were able to have this moment of joy underneath their cloud of sadness was a miracle as far as Virgil was concerned, but he was so happy to share this with his beloved boyfriend and best friend of many years. Whatever would come later was in the future, right now it was just them and they were determined to make the most of it.


	31. Ceremonies and Send Offs

Patton knew that Virgil had a free period before lunch the next day and so made an effort to be the first out of his class in order to meet up with his boyfriend. He almost ran through the halls in order to grab his stuff before heading to their little hiding spot for lunch. When he rounded the corner, Patton immediately sat down in order to catch his breath. He went to smile at his boyfriend and catch his eyes but found that he was met with the side of Virgil’s face as he was curled up into himself.

With a soft smile, Patton lightly wrapped his arms around Virgil, causing the other boy to lean into his body, “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. I promise.” Patton whispered soothingly, rocking back and forth gently in order to comfort his anxious boyfriend.

Their friends slowly piled into the small space as the lunch period really began. They all did their best not to ask about what the couple wanted to talk with them about until all of them were gathered. All bets were off when Thomas finally appeared and took his seat.

“So, what the hell do you guys want? I was having a heart attack last night, worried fucking sick about you guys!” Ana said dramatically, throwing their hands all over the place.

Em grabbed their hands and held them in her lap, trying to stop her partner from causing any damage to anyone, “They really were. I don’t think we’ve fallen asleep while being on the phone since we first started dating until last night, we just wanted to make sure you two were okay. The message sounded really urgent…”

Patton could feel Virgil tensing in his arms. This was possibly his worst nightmare, knowing he influenced and panicked his close friends so much that they did something that was out of the ordinary. Before Patton could even attempt to say anything, Em started giggling and leaned against Ana.

“It was really nice though, so I think we should thank you guys.”

Virgil immediately flicked his head up to look between Em and Ana and Patton, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Patton smiled wide and pressed a kiss to Virgil’s forehead when he next looked to him, causing the emo to blush and duck his head.

Patton asked them all to wait just a couple minutes longer because he didn’t want to have to talk about it twice with people. Just as everyone was begrudgingly agreeing, his phone began buzzing away in his pocket. He managed to wriggle it out and picked up the call as soon as he could.

“HI!” came Abigal’s loud voice ringing through the small speaker. Patton and Virgil both flinched as they were the ones closest to the sound, their ears beginning to ring a little. “Oh, oops, sorry…” The laughter of the other two that were present on the other end told Patton that everyone was finally able to hear him and so he launched into the explanation.

He talked about what Virgil’s parents had said about Logan and Roman’s university experiences, how that was negatively affecting everyone, how Virgil’s parents had decided the best thing was for them to move. Patton found that he had to pause his rambles as everyone had extreme reactions and opinions to the news, all of them clearly being upset that one of their friends was going to be taken far away from them.

With a little help from Em who was sat across from them and Asher on the other end of the phone, Patton was able to calm everyone down enough that he could begin to explain the idea that he and Virgil had brainstormed the night before. He told them the date that Virgil was leaving and that they wanted this to involve as many of them as possible.

On the other end of the phone, Asher mentioned how they would be back in town next week, while Abigal and Reggie realised they were only coming back a couple of days before Virgil was leaving. That narrowed down the timeframe they had significantly. Thankfully, everyone else was available the day before Virgil’s move, which was also perfect as it could be their send off at the same time.

“So, we’re going to be having it happen in this little park near our houses. It’s really nice and it’s away from everyone else, it’s almost always empty.” Patton mentioned.

There was a soft squeal from the phone in his hand, “Oh my gosh! This sounds like a cute little promise wedding! We should totally make it like a wedding ceremony!” Abigal gushed.

Everyone, especially Sophia and Em, were on board with this idea. They all began to throw out their ideas for how they could make it extra special and wedding-like. As they spoke, Virgil hid his face further and further into his boyfriend’s side, almost looking like he was trying to coax Patton’s body into absorbing him, so he could get out of there. Patton giggled and squeezed him tight for a second, causing Virgil to look up at him.

“It’ll be okay. It’s just us. The most important thing is that we’re doing this for us.” Patton reached down and slipped his fingers between Virgil’s in order to hold his hand comfortingly.

Virgil smiled softly, “I hate that you’re right with your sappy crap.”

“I didn’t hear that!” Patton threw his head to the side and comically pretended to not hear anything that Virgil said for the few seconds that followed, when the emo tried and failed to get Patton’s gaze to fall back onto himself. It only ended when Virgil moved out of Patton’s hold, grabbed his boyfriend’s face between his hands and turned it physically back to him.

“So rude.” Virgil said with a grin, his gaze exceedingly fond as he looked directly into Patton’s. The two shared a brief kiss that only broke because they suddenly heard a soft squeaky squeal.

All their friends were absolutely silent, each dealing with the incredibly adorable scene in their own ways. On the other end of the phone, however, none of their older friends were able to see what was going on and so Abigal felt she had every right to interrupt and ask what the heck was happening. It was explained to them all and she responded with a puking sound that was quietened almost immediately by Reggie’s comment of him ‘never having heard any complaints before’.

The rest of lunch continued with their friends on the phone and it was so wonderful for Patton. He felt like he could almost ignore the fact that he was going to lose his proximity to his boyfriend at home and could instead focus on how lucky he was to have had this wonderful experience with his close friends.

For two weeks in between that planning phase and the actual date of their ceremony, all of their group tried to hang out as much as humanly possible. Exams and last-minute revision got in the way for the first week, but eventually all the testing was over, and they had all the free time in the world to hang out. Each day, they crowded in someone’s home or nearby and just hung out, enjoying not only their last days together before Virgil moved away but also their last time of freedom as college and real adult life was creeping up on them fairly fast.

It only really became real on the day of their ceremony. They split into their initial friend groups and spent the whole day ‘getting them ready’. Abigal and Sophia were playing at being fully trainer hairdressers and makeup artists as they pretended to do Patton up for the ceremony, while Asher and Daniel were sat with Thomas, who’d been appointed to lead the whole thing. They were helping him memorise the script that a couple of the others had written for him to follow.

Across the street, Em was the one sorting Virgil’s make up while Reggie messed with his hair. Ana and Ayana were more than happy to just sit on his bed in the almost empty room, watching all of it happen from a distance.

“So, where’s this park you guys were talking about?” Ana asked, clearly bored.

“It’s at the end of the street. You probably passed it on your way here. It’s mostly covered by trees, so you wouldn’t know it’s there unless you’ve been there before.” Virgil explained. His nerves were rising as the afternoon rolled on. They were going to meet around 3pm at the park and he’d been specifically told to be there just before 3.

“It’ll be fine, Virgil. Just relax.” Em tried to sooth the anxious boy, checking his face one last time before putting away his makeup, “This is all for you and Patton. Just enjoy it.” There were noises of agreement from the rest of his attending friends. Virgil was going to try his best to not be nervous about it.

As they packed up and headed out of the house, Virgil told his friends to wait outside for him as he had to just let his parents know where he was going. He wandered through the empty home and into the kitchen, where his immediate family was still packing.

“Um, so… I’m going outside with some friends, I’ll be back soon. Is that okay?” Virgil shuffled, feeling a little bad at leaving his family right now.

His mom looked at him with a sad smile, “Of course, honey. Just be back before it gets too late.”

“Thanks, I will. We’re just going down to the park, so not too far.” Virgil said as he turned and headed to the front door. He was trying to remind himself to breathe slowly as they approached the end of the road and Virgil led the way into the small, enclosed park space. He stopped dead as soon as he got one foot past the iron gates.

Standing off to the side next to the trees was an archway that he’d never seen before. It was clearly made in a hurry as some of the original wood was showing through the white paint, but it still gave off the wedding vibe. The flower chains that were weaving through it and into the branches of the nearby trees only added to the aesthetic. Virgil almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He wanted to know who had done this but, before he could open his mouth to ask the question, he got his answer.

“Well, I guess she found the flowers then.” Reggie chuckled from his side. Reggie looked sideways at Virgil, directly addressing him, “Abigal wanted to make this special and ‘look good for the pictures’ so she and Ana made this last night. She lost the flowers this morning, but clearly, she found them.” Ana clicked their tongue and finger gunned when Virgil turned to look at them.

The stunned emo was almost dragged over to the arch and placed just in front of it, almost as if he was the groom at a wedding who was waiting for his partner to arrive. It was then that everything really clicked, and Virgil’s face turned bright red. He hadn’t expected them to go this hard.

Ayana stood at the end with a small basket in her hand and Virgil couldn’t help but notice her nervous energy. She was looking towards the gate as if she was looking for some kind of signal, but Virgil was still trying to let his brain catch up with him and so couldn’t quite think of what she might be trying to look for. Sure, they were waiting on Patton and the other half of their group, but that shouldn’t be something Ayana was specifically searching for. He found out her reasoning once the rest of their friends stepped into the park.

The youngest of them all walked over to the oncoming group of people and seemed to ask them something before she was put into the lead position. Despite the reservation and nerves that were showing clearly on her face, she began to sprinkle the ground with flower petals. This was yet another part of this that was clearly inspired by a wedding and Virgil was mortified, his face somehow turning an even brighter shade of red. He turned his gaze away, preferring to watch the branches of the trees sway in the breeze than what was clearly meant to be a wedding procession. It was only when his view was blocked by Thomas’ body walking past him and then Patton standing opposite that he finally stopped watching the surround nature.

Thomas perfectly fell into the role of minister, presiding over the ceremony as if he’d been doing these all of his life. He addressed everyone and followed the script perfectly.

Patton was clearly enjoying himself, if the wide, toothy grin he was constantly wearing was any indication. Virgil, meanwhile, was still trying to get over the embarrassment he felt over this whole thing being treated as a full-on wedding ceremony.

It got to the part where Virgil and Patton were to swap their promise gifts. They’d thought about it for a while and they decided to make bracelets for each other. Earlier in the week, they’d gone to a nearby craft store and picked out bead colours they wanted. Virgil went for his usual black and two shades of purple, while Patton naturally gravitated to the pastel blue, pink and yellow.

“Wait!” Patton had stopped Virgil as they were leaving the shop. He dragged the emo over to a nearby bench and dug around in his bag, opening the packets of beads. After a couple minutes of rummaging and more than a few beads running away from him, Patton held out one of each of the colours that Virgil had picked out, “We should swap some! So the bracelets have some of all the beads, a forever reminder in a forever promise!”

Virgil hadn’t admitted it out loud then, but it was a positively adorable idea and he just loved it. The idea that he and Patton would always hold something that was representative of their respective partner filled him with warmth and made him feel so utterly loved. He took the beads from Patton’s hand and then went about getting one of each of the colours he had in his own bag. Patton was cutely swinging his legs back and forth as he waited, the adorable action distracting Virgil just a little. Eventually, he held his three out for Patton to take.

In their hands at the ceremony were the finished bracelets. Patton was to go first. He grabbed a hold of Virgil’s left hand and started to slide the bracelet around his wrist, when a voice called out.

“Virgil? Are you still here?”

The boy in question sighed, the soft moment between them broken as Logan rounded the corner and entered the park. He caught sight of what was going on and seemed to have a moment of disbelief as he paused suddenly. After taking a second to catch himself, Logan headed over to them.

“What is going on here?” The firstborn Mortenson son was taking in everything he could see.

“It’s a Promise Ceremony!” Sophia responded, her hands on her hips as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

Logan looked down at her with a slightly alarmed expression, “A what?” He shook his head before he got an answer, “Doesn’t matter. Virgil, mom and dad need you back at the house as soon as possible. It looks like it’s going to rain. Finish up as soon as you can.” All of them turned their attention to the sky and could see the dark clouds rolling in fast above them. Patton pouted and was clearly a little upset at the change in weather. Logan then turned to head off back home but was stopped by Virgil calling his name.

“Logan, why don’t you stay here? It won’t be much longer…” Virgil asked. He wasn’t sure why he asked for his brother to stay. Normally, he’d love to have the space, but something was telling him to keep his brother close by.

Logan glanced around at all of his brother’s friends, slowly being persuaded by their hopeful faces. He sighed and went to stand next to Ayana at the end, “Fine.”

The ceremony continued. Virgil pulled the bracelet he made for Patton out and grabbed a hold of his hand, staring into his boyfriend’s eyes. He slid the beads over Patton’s wrist and squeezed the hand tight before letting them both fall between them, their fingers still gently interlaced and the beads around their wrists touching.

Thomas finished up the last of the script he’d been given before looking between the clearly love-struck couple in front of him. A spark of inspiration must have come to him as, out of the corner of Virgil’s eye, he perked up and addressed them both, “Now, you may kiss!”

Virgil’s head almost cracked as he turned his head sharply to look at Thomas with a concerned and embarrassed glare. He went to ask what the fuck Thomas thought he was doing but Patton’s gentle giggles and soft hands turning his head stopped him. It was only a brief moment that Virgil had to see Patton’s loving gaze and smile before his lips were pressed so lightly against his own. He practically melted against the other boy, kissing back as the world around him drained away, leaving them alone.

Off to the side, Abigal was watching the boys have their utterly precious moment. She had her arms wrapped around her own boyfriend’s, her fingers locked between his, which meant she was able to feel when he tensed up and hear when Reggie muttered something along the lines of “Oh shit…” in a tone that was really unfitting for the situation.

“Hey, what was that for!?” Abigal looked up, ready to berate him, but she stopped when she saw the fear in his eyes. “Babe, what’s wro…” She trailed off as she followed his gaze. Her heart stopped when she locked eyes with the ones across the small park, her panic rising to levels she hadn’t felt in years. Immediately, she darted forwards to try and warn the others, but a loud metallic crash had everyone’s attention before Abigal even had a chance.

Everyone’s eyes turned to see what had caused the sound, a shout also coming from the same place. “ _What the FUCK is THIS?!_ ”

Ayana immediately ducked behind Em, who wrapped the young girl in her arms. Daniel looked about ready to bolt in the opposite direction, while Sophia and Ana both seemed to ready themselves for a fight. Asher straightened his back and grabbed a hold of Abigal’s free hand, providing her comfort while she shook. Reggie was a complete statue, unmoving as Logan walked past him to stand fully between the group and the oncoming figure. Virgil and Patton both stood frozen, their hands now tightly clasped. Patton was shaking, tears were rolling down his cheeks as he stared at the approaching face of his older brother that was contorted into an expression of pure rage.


	32. Frustrations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter involves violence and lots of screaming.  
> Just a warning.

Roman’s gaze was piercing right through Patton’s body. It felt as though he was being stabbed right through his heart, the ache almost unbearable as he attempted to find words to say. He watched in horror as his brother approached, preparing himself for the worst – especially when Logan stepped between the oncoming Roman and the group of kids.

This seemed to make Roman exponentially angrier. His rage was pouring out of him and was almost palpable as he spat his words with pure venom, “Move or I’ll make you.” Roman attempted to dodge around Logan but kept getting blocked.

“Roman, what do you think you’re doing?” Logan asked, the picture of calm though it was obvious there was an underlying note of frustration that was simmering away.

The furious student actually growled, as if he was upset that Logan would even consider asking him anything, “What do _I_ think I’m doing?! What do _YOU_ think you’re doing with _MY_ brother?!” Roman physically pushed Logan aside and made his way towards Patton. A distant rumble of thunder could be heard as Logan attempted to stop Roman.

Patton almost considered running in the opposite direction but wasn’t even able to finish his thought before his free arm was grabbed tightly by Roman. It was extremely painful; his grip was vice-like. “Patton. You’re coming home with me. Right now.” Roman crushed his arm in his hand, yanking him away from Virgil harshly, almost pulling Patton’s arm out of his socket. The pain was intense, and Patton cried out, but Roman ignored it.

“HEY! LET GO!” Sophia yelled at Roman, running over and tugging at his arm in an attempt to get it off of Patton. Roman pushed her away, snarling like an animal. “YOU’RE HURTING HIM, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!”

“What do you know about him?” Roman sneered, looking her up and down as if she was worthless.

Now it was Sophia’s turn for her eyes to blaze with pure rage, “More than you, that’s for sure! You haven’t even been around to get to know him!”

“What does knowing stuff about him have to do with him being in pain anyway?!” Ana chimed in, coming to stand next to Sophia, clearly ready for a fight. “Anyone with a functioning brain and ears could fucking tell you were hurting him!”

Only then did Roman look back and see his younger brother’s eyes welling with tears. Patton’s other hand now holding onto his own shoulder as if he were about to lose his arm. In response, Roman threw the arm he was holding back down and instead grabbed onto Patton’s shoulder, pulling him close and starting to drag him out of the park.

Sophia and Ana both threw themselves towards the Ashworths, attempting to stop them from leaving, while Logan took up the position in front of Roman once more. Another rumble and a distant flash of lightning illuminated the expressions of frustration and anger for all to see.

“ _Get out of my way, Mortenson._ ”

“Not unless you unhand him.”

“And _why_ would I do that? So you can turn him against me? Use him to get back at me? I didn’t think you were that cruel, Logan. Bringing my little brother into this.”

Silence fell and no one moved. Everyone couldn’t believe what they had just heard. Logan stared incredulously at Roman, while the two holding onto him loosened their grip in pure shock.

A voice sounded behind Roman, which got him turning around sharply, “Are you fucking blind or something?”

“ _Excuse me?_ ” He asked, clearly offended.

Abigal had pushed Asher’s hand away and was now standing between her group and Roman, looking up at him, disgust clear on her face, “Oh, are you also deaf now? You really think that _Logan_ is the one bringing _Patton_ into this whole bullshit?”

“Well, of cours-”

“Was I fucking done?!” Abigal spoke loudly, holding her palm up to Roman’s face. It was quickly swatted away with a hard slap, which had the girl recoiling and cradling her hand as she whimpered in pain.

Logan took over, causing Roman to spin around yet again, “You’ve been bringing both of our brothers into this since the beginning!”

“What…?” Roman was sincerely confused. He looked around the group, turning Patton as he moved causing the younger to feel extremely dizzy and light-headed, which was messing with his already destroyed thought process.

Roman’s eyes scanned the group around him, looking for what Logan was talking about. As he did so, Logan continued to explain, “You tried to stop them from the first moment they met. You didn’t even give them a chance, and now you’re trying to do it again.”

That was when it became apparent and Roman’s gaze snapped to Virgil, who instinctively flinched. Roman’s face darkened as he remembered what he’d walked in on, “Oh… so that’s how it is, huh?” His voice was low, dangerous. Roman pushed Patton to the side, who was quickly checked on by Ana.

He approached Virgil and immediately grabbed the younger student by the front of his shirt, pulling him up that small distance so he was incapable of doing anything but struggling. The venom returned, and he actually physically spat into Virgil’s face as he spoke, “You lured him, didn’t you? You and your brother planned this, all to get to us, didn’t you?” When Virgil didn’t speak, Roman violently shook him and screamed, “ANSWER ME!”

“Put him down!” Logan was trying to get Roman off of his brother but was easily shoved to the ground. Thanks to the grass, he was unharmed but definitely was winded. He watched with fear as Roman became more agitated, shaking Virgil around even more.

The emo was scrabbling hard at the hand holding him, trying his best to get him to let go. His heart was pounding, and he was definitely scared. In any other situation, he would have run away by now and gotten as far from Roman as possible. This wasn’t any normal situation, however. As soon as he’d seen Patton get chucked to the side, Virgil was more focused on getting to his boyfriend. He wanted to know if he was okay. He wanted to hug him and console him, tell him it would all be okay even though he wasn’t sure if it really was.

Another pair of hands started to help him out, trying to release Roman’s hold but Virgil’s current closeness to Roman and the angle his head was at made it impossible to see who it was. He didn’t need to see as Roman grimaced in disgust, “Oh, look, the traitor is here, trying to help his precious little friend.”

A flash of lightning was quickly followed by a rumble of thunder, indicating that the storm was closing in. A few drops of rain splashed onto their faces, the ones dripping off of Roman’s falling onto Virgil’s. The hands attempting to help him faltered for a second, but soon managed to release him.

Virgil fell to the ground and was quickly crowded by Em and Ayana, who moved him away from Roman. The emo looked up to see both Reggie and Thomas acting as a barricade, stopping Roman from getting close again. It didn’t last too long as both of them were thrown to either side as the older student easily overpowered them in strength. Thomas’ back hit the archway, causing the flowers that were strung up to fall to the ground and the arch itself to lean back, ending up crashing against one of the surrounding trees with a loud sound.

Roman took one step and was once again blocked by Logan and Sophia. He screamed in anger. Everything had been building up and up and up and it was finally spilling over. Roman reared back and threw a strong punch directly into Logan’s face.

Time slowed to a halt as his fist made contact. Everyone else was watching in horror. Logan’s glasses snapped causing the lens to shatter everywhere, some bits sticking into Roman’s fist. He recoiled and fell back to the ground, unable to truly process what had just happened. All those closest to Roman sprang into action as Virgil watched it all unfold in what felt like slow motion. Reggie and Thomas grabbed a hold of Roman, trying to hold the older back from doing any more damage. Sophia got up into Roman’s face and began a screaming match with him, soon joined by both Ana and Abigal. Asher and Daniel both held them back, while Asher also joined in, chastising Roman for what he’d just done. Em sprinted over and checked on Logan, making sure he wasn’t bleeding. It was getting louder. The rain was starting to fall harder. Everything was getting too much. Virgil felt Ayana shaking behind him as she still attempted to help him.

A loud crack of thunder and lightning happened simultaneously, clearly hitting somewhere near by as the smell of burning instantly reached them. Everything stopped as they heard the loud scream from nearby.

They turned and looked at Patton, who was curled up on the ground, his hands over his ears, screaming at the top of his lungs. The heavens opened, the rain pelted down.

“STOP! EVERYONE JUST STOP IT!” Patton screamed, clutching his head tightly. “STOP YELLING! STOP FIGHTING! JUST STOP!”

No one but Virgil moved. They were all statues. He only stood and took a step towards Patton before Roman pushed his way over and tried to rest a hand on his brother, only for it to be knocked away.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Patton looked up and screamed in Roman’s face. The rain mixed with his tears, making it impossible to know just how hard he was crying, though the sobs racking his body made everyone able to guess.

“Patton, what’s-” Roman tried again.

“DON’T TALK TO ME! JUST GO AWAY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE! YOU SOUND SO STUPID! YOU’RE SO STUPID, ROMAN!” Patton shouted through his tears, “YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! YOU ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING!”

Roman physically took a step back, clearly hurt.

Patton stood and looked up at his brother, with anger and pain, “I ALMOST LOST MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME THAT I SHOULDN’T BE FRIENDS WITH HIM BECAUSE OF WHO HIS BROTHER WAS!” Patton pointed towards Virgil. “AND LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW! DATING! AND I’M HAPPY! BECAUSE I DIDN’T LISTEN TO YOU!”

Roman opened his mouth to speak but Patton continued, “I ALMOST LOST ANOTHER FRIEND BECAUSE OF YOU, BECAUSE WE WERE SCARED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU FOUND OUT VIRGIL AND I WERE FRIENDS!” He then pointed towards Abigal and Reggie, “IF WE’D LISTENED AND BEEN LIKE YOU, WE’D HAVE LOST THEM FOREVER! BUT WE DIDN’T, BECAUSE WE’RE NOT LIKE YOU!”

“NO ONE IS LIKE YOU!” Patton poked Roman hard in the chest, “NO ONE ELSE PULLS INNOCENT PEOPLE INTO A FIGHT THAT ISN’T EVEN A FIGHT! LOGAN HASN’T EVEN BEEN FIGHTING YOU THIS WHOLE TIME! IT’S JUST BEEN YOU!”

“YOU LOST YOUR FRIENDS! YOU LOST YOUR FAMILY! YOU ALMOST MADE ME LOSE MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS AND MY LIFE! DON’T TRY AND BRING US DOWN TO YOUR LEVEL BECAUSE IT’S NOT LIKE THAT! VIRGIL LOVES ME! MY FRIENDS LOVE ME! LOGAN LOVES ME! YOU. DON’T. LOVE. ME.” Patton fell back to the ground, crying hard.

Virgil ran past the unmoving Roman and wrapped his arms around his soaked boyfriend, trying to calm him as much as he could. He looked up to Roman, pure hatred in his eyes, “I think you should go.” It was the first thing Virgil had ever said to Patton’s brother, and it was going to be the last, he’d make sure of that.

However, Roman wasn’t going to make it that easy. “Don’t tell me what to do. You’ve all clearly brainwashed him into believing I’m the bad guy.” He scowled and tried to grab Patton again, but found his arm being caught by three of the surrounding kids, “Let me go!”

Logan calmly walked up, his glasses in hand, “My brother is right. You should go, Roman.”

“Not without my brother.”

“I’m not your brother…” Patton croaked, his voice raw from screaming.

Roman looked down sharply, “What…?”

“I’m. Not. Your. Brother.” Patton punctuated each word as if he was talking to a young child, “Is it hard to get it through your thick skull?”

Roman tensed and seemed to inflate with fury, “Are you saying you’re choosing to be with them over your family? Your flesh and blood? The people who looked after you and cared for you?!”

Patton pushed Virgil’s arms away gently and stood straight, facing his brother. His voice was measured, his expression blank though easily tinged with a hint of sadness, “Are you making me choose?”

Silence. Nothing but the rain against the leaves and their bodies, the distant thunder that was now behind him, the heavy breathing of everyone surrounding them.

“Yes, I am.” Roman said, staring Patton down.

“Then I choose them.” Patton gestured to Virgil and Logan, “They’re all my family, Roman.” He looked past the boy he used to call his brother to his soaked friends, “Not you. You were never family.”

It seemed to take a moment for Roman to register what Patton had said. “You’ll regret that.” He said, harshly bumping Patton as he stalked out of the park. Patton didn’t move, even as Roman angrily kicked the large metal gate. It was only once he could hear Roman’s footsteps on the path outside that Patton lost the strength he had, collapsing onto the ground as he sobbed violently. Virgil was immediately there, holding him gently and comforting him. Logan wasn’t far behind, and the rest of his group came closer but stayed a little bit away in order to give him space.

Patton knew he wasn’t alone, but he felt so empty. He’d made his decision. Roman was going to tell his parents what happened. They were going to hate him. Where would he go now?

Just as he thought that, a pair of voices called out from behind them.

“Virgil! Logan!” Their mother shouted from the edge of the park, an open umbrella over her head, “What are you two doing? You’re soaked! Come home!”

Logan stood and looked towards them. He intended to ask them something, but he uncovered what was happening in front of him as he moved to the side. Immediately, both his parents were running across the grass.

“What happened?” Jason asked softly, aiming it more towards Logan than Patton as he crouched down on the opposite side of him.

Logan thought for a second, “Can I tell you once we get back to the house? I think everyone needs to get inside before we all get ill.”

His parents agreed and ushered everyone up the street as quick as they could. They apologised for not having too much around at the moment, but everyone was already aware of the move and didn’t hold it against them. Their mom dug around in one of the boxes and pulled out all the towels she could, offering them around, while their dad pulled out every mug and glass they’d packed away earlier in order to make drinks for everyone.

The whole group sat silently in the living room space, still trying to process what had just happened. Logan’s eye was slowly darkening and was clearly causing him pain. Em was holding Ayana as the young girl shook silently, trying to bring her out of her panicked state. Ana was amped up on anger, their legs shaking as they tried not to start ranting. Sophia was nursing her hand as she’d punched a tree hard after Roman had left in order to release her anger. Asher and Thomas were looking around the group, offering a friendly smile or look whenever one of the others looked their way. Daniel was sandwiched between them, still shaking slightly. Reggie and Abigal were curled up in front of the sofa, both so uncharacteristically quiet in their reflection.

Virgil watched all of them as he held the still crying Patton. The tears had long since stopped as his boyfriend had clearly run out of them and the sobs were silent due to his wrecked throat from the screaming and crying, but he was still utterly distraught.

The adults joined them in the living room once they were sure everyone was looked after. “So, who wants to tell us what happened?” Jason prompted. He was clearly not trying to push anyone for an answer, but his concern was clear.

It was still Logan that recounted the whole story to them, watching carefully as their faces contorted in concern. As soon as he mentioned that Patton had essentially disowned his family in a statement, his mother looked towards the boy with tears in her eyes. She asked how old he was, an open question to the room.

“He’s eighteen. The oldest of all of us that were in his year, miss.” Thomas piped up for the first time.

She chewed her lip and looked to her husband. It was apparently clear what was on her mind as he smiled warmly, “We have the same idea, Lil.” Jason said.

The woman softly padded across the room and cautiously brushed Patton’s hair out of his face, causing the young man to look at her with his bloodshot eyes. It made her heart ache and a tear roll down her cheek. She put on a strong face and smiled, “If you want to, you can come with us…”

Patton’s head raised from where it was tucked under Virgil’s for the first time since they’d entered the house. He looked between her and Jason as if he couldn’t quite believe what she’d said.

“You’re old enough. You can make your own decisions now.” She spoke so quietly and looked at him with such care and love that Patton couldn’t help the choked sob that fell from his mouth as he threw himself towards the woman.

“Thank you, Mrs Mortenson.” He managed to squeeze out of his destroyed throat.

The woman he was holding onto quieted him, “Shhh, it’s okay. You can call me Liliana, I think we’re at that point.” Her comment had Patton letting out a gentle laugh before he began to cough. Liliana let him fall back into her son’s arms and passed Patton his drink before returning to her husband’s side.

The mood had definitely lightened now, but some of them were still lingering on the events of the afternoon, especially as they heard the rain pounding against the windows. Jason looked around at all the young students, taking them each in one by one before he grinned, “I’m interested to know how my son managed to make such a wild array of friends! Anyone want to introduce themselves?”

The rest of the evening was spent talking about their group and what they’d done. Even though some of them initially felt that the man’s statement was simply a bluff to get them talking, it turned out that Jason was actually interested in knowing about his son’s friends. He listened to each of them, commenting when most of them finished their short tales. He quickly became loved by most of the group, due to his sense of humour and his chilled personality. They were all feeling much calmer by the time they left, heading off back to their homes.

Patton and Virgil gave each of them a personal hug and a goodbye. They waved until the last of their friends was out of sight. Behind them at the door was Liliana, who kept her eyes trained on the house opposite. She swore she saw a flash of movement behind one of the upstairs curtains, but she couldn’t be sure.

That night, Patton ate dinner with the Mortenson family and stayed the night in Virgil’s now almost empty room. They cuddled and chatted quietly, both unable to sleep but were absolutely exhausted by the day’s events. Eventually, Virgil did slip into sleep and Patton was left alone with his thoughts. He stared across the room, just about making out the pieces of furniture around them in the darkness. He ran through all his memories here in this room, each of them making him smile more and more. His best times had been here with Virgil, in the Mortenson’s house. Patton wasn’t lying to Roman when he said that Virgil and Logan were his real family. With that comforting thought, Patton closed his eyes and shortly followed Virgil into a restful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so I finally got here...  
> This was the other half that was from the original idea I had for this fic, and I've finally written it down.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed and it didn't hurt too much <3


	33. The End...

Virgil leant against the doorframe as he watched Patton pack the last of his things into the last of the boxes that had been laying all around the room. It was strange to be here again, and he didn’t exactly feel safe, but he couldn’t let Patton come here alone.

From the moment they’d woken up, both of the boys had been ushered across the road by Virgil’s parents. They stood in silence and listened as the adults of both families talked and argued at the front door. Liliana was vehemently standing by her decision to allow Patton to come along with them, while his mother was trying to find a way to keep her son nearby. It was obvious from the start that she had no true arguments that held up well and she eventually folded.

The Mortensons had then carried extra boxes up into his bedroom and left the two alone to pack up Patton’s belongings. They were given a few hours, so Patton could take his time with packing. They’d also been given that time in case they needed to suddenly get out of the house because of any foul behaviour.

Thankfully, the whole time they’d been in his room, Patton’s brother remained in his own bedroom, utterly silent. It was completely void of sound, no semblance of life inside the room, but they knew he was in there. It made Virgil relax the tiniest amount, but he was still on guard in case Roman decided to show his face.

The emo moved out of the way as his boyfriend silently grabbed the last box and slowly made his way out and down the stairs. Virgil decided to stay up in the room, as he heard Patton’s parents talking to him. He stepped inside the empty bedroom and really had a good look around.

Virgil had only been in here once and yet it still felt so strange.

The baby blue walls were blank, excluding the painted extra circles of darker blue. It was entirely un-Patton-like. Virgil was able to visualise all the drawings and posters and photos that had almost entirely engulfed the walls the last time he was here, as well as from that morning. Now the only things hiding the painted walls were the pieces of empty, blank furniture.

Virgil ran his hand down the doors of Patton’s wardrobe. The stickers he’d placed there still remained, the last sign that this was a room that belonged to the happy-go-lucky child. Virgil traced each one he could reach. He wondered when these had been put on the light wood, how long they’d stayed, if they’d ever been replaced, if any of these were put on by someone other than Patton. At one point, his feet began to slowly drift across the floor, trailing him across the room at a snail’s pace. This allowed for his feet to tangle slightly and his hand to instinctively grab onto the handle of the wardrobe door, causing it to swing open.

The plain white back stared Virgil in the face, with the daylight streaming in through the window shining off the empty metal bar at the top. He’d never seen inside the piece of furniture, but the emo could easily imagine all of Patton’s colourful clothes hanging up inside, creating a rainbow of bright and pastel colours. He could see his boyfriend standing where he was as he attempted to pick out his outfit for the day.

A squeaky yawn caught Virgil’s attention and he turned to the now-stripped bed. A gentle smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he watched the small dog stretch and curl back up, ready to nap once more. Virgil took a seat at the edge of the bare mattress and carefully petted the small animal. He knew Reilly was extremely important to Patton, even though he’d only met the tiny dog a few times when Patton had brought him outside. Virgil had listened to Patton whenever he’d rattle off all the great things about the dog; how soft he was, how friendly, how loving. The emo was really only able to see a couple of those things as the small dog seemed to think negatively of him, but he believed Patton, for the most part. Reilly was even one of the ways Patton’s parents attempted to keep him around, arguing that because Reilly was seen as “Patton’s Dog”, it wouldn’t be right to leave him alone. Virgil’s dad had quickly responded by casually saying they’d take the dog as well if he was so important to Patton. Virgil was only absently stroking the dog as he got lost in his thoughts, which meant he wasn’t ready for Reilly’s sharp yap that told him to stop petting.

The emo stood and backed away from the dog, “Okay, I’m stopping.” He quietly assured the dog, who only curled up again and began to nap once more. Virgil dragged his feet across the carpet, heading to stand in front of the window. He looked out towards his own house, or rather his old house. He ran his hand over the empty windowsill, mentally pointing out where each and every random decoration was last time he looked. It was going to be so strange, moving to a brand-new place, not seeing his usual view out the window anymore, not writing on his window to talk to his boyfriend and instead being able to just talk to him pretty much whenever he wanted.

Just as he was thinking about going to check on Patton, as Virgil realised he’d been gone for quite a while now, the soft voice called from out in the hallway, “Hey Virge? Is Reilly still in here?”

Virgil turned around just in time to see Patton coming around the doorframe and entering the room. He watched as the boy made his way across the floor and sat himself down on the mattress, sitting close to his dog. There was something that just looked so sad about the whole picture. Virgil moved to sit on the opposite side, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend, “It’s okay.” He whispered, rocking Patton softly in order to try and comfort him better.

“But why do I feel so sad?” Patton asked into the empty room to no one in particular, “I should be happy. I’m getting to live with you and I’m getting away from _here_.” He didn’t go into specifics, as he knew Roman was probably trying to listen in. “I should feel so happy, and I am excited… but I’m also just so sad…”

Virgil squeezed Patton for a brief moment, “It’s okay to feel sad, Pat. You’re leaving all you’ve ever known and your family, it makes sense. It won’t be easy, but you’ll get through it, _we’ll_ get through it and be stronger because of it.”

Patton snuggled closer to Virgil, “I suppose…”

The young couple stayed in their embrace for a little while, neither really having the drive to get up and head downstairs. It was only once they heard Jason calling up to them that they finally moved. Patton bundled Reilly into his arms and led the way down the stairs. Virgil shut the bedroom door behind him and gave one last look towards Roman’s before following.

As soon as they touched the ground floor, Patton’s mother wrapped him in a tight hug. She said her goodbyes through her tears, while his father merely stood behind and waited for his turn to speak. Virgil slid past and went to stand outside with his own parents, so he could give the Ashworths their time alone.

“Where’s Patton?” His dad asked once he saw Virgil exiting the house alone.

“Just saying goodbye to his parents, I think…” The young man looked behind him in order to emphasise his point.

“Ah, right. Well, you two are still okay to be travelling in the car with Logan, right?”

Virgil had almost forgotten that his parents were going to have to take the moving van that was full of all their belongings, while he and Patton were having to go along with Logan in the family’s car. Virgil shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, “I guess. I don’t really care.”

Jason ruffled his son’s hair, causing the emo to flail a little in an attempt to get him to stop. There was a soft laugh from behind them as Patton was walking towards them, a slightly happier expression on his face.

“Everything is loaded into the van. Are we ready to go?” Logan called from the back of the van.

Everyone agreed, and they piled into their respective vehicles. Patton and Virgil sat in the back seats together, preferring to keep each other company like that, while Reilly sat on Patton’s lap. The Ashworths came to stand outside their home, watching and waiting to wave goodbye to their son and the other family. Roman still refused to show his face, however.

Patton watched, his heart aching as the car started and began to roll down the street. He waved to his parents until they were completely out of sight. He knew this was all for the best, his life would be better now he could be away from Roman and his influence and all of that, but that didn’t make it any less scary. His free hand was shaking slightly, the other was occupied in steadying the tiny dog in his lap.

All of a sudden, Virgil’s hand was slipping beneath Patton’s, their fingers interlocking loosely. The young man smiled and turned to his emo boyfriend, watching as he pretended to ignore Patton’s gaze and stare out the window at the moving scenery. Everything was going to get better, they would prove to Roman that it wasn’t a mistake, that both of them were going to make each other the happiest people in the world. With that comforting thought, Patton was finally able to relax a little more and enjoy the car ride.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus ends the tale of our boys, at least their main story.  
> I may come back and add extra stories from this universe (I already have an epilogue planned)
> 
> But I have to say thank you to everyone who read and cared for this fic. Reading all the amazing comments and knowing so many people were as invested in these characters as I was from beginning to end is a fantastic feeling, and I wish I had more to say other than just "thank you" <3


	34. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really long chapter, well over 9000 words.   
> But I hope it gives you all you wanted <3

Roman Ashworth was happy with his life. He was perfectly content with his job and his lifestyle. Everyone at his job was too stuffy and uptight, completely not his type of people. He preferred to leave them to their own devices, having always turned down their invitations to spend time together after work until they finally got the message. Instead, Roman would go back to his empty apartment, take a few hours to wash off the boring 9 to 5 desk job costume and replace it with a perfect party look, go out to one of the many clubs, and then just dance and drink the night away.

He had friends, though. While at work, he’d talk with his co-workers and they were always so pleased to be around him. At the many clubs, Roman was close to all of the security and bar staff, so clearly they were friends. He even spoke to his old school friend, Remy, on occasion. Yes, Roman Ashworth’s life was going just the way he wanted it to.

That was until one day, when all the things he’d been running from and pushing to the back of his mind came crashing down around him.

It all started when he got a message from Remy, asking to meet at their usual spot that evening. Roman was utterly delighted that his friend wanted to spend some time together, would be a nice change from the usual day-to-day life. So, that night he cut his partying short and headed to their usual meeting point – a small local diner. Upon entering, Roman was easily able to pick out his friend due to the signature leather jacket and the fact there were only three others in the diner at the time.

Roman slid into the seat opposite of Remy with an exaggerated sigh, “Man, I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted!”

In front of him, Remy simply sipped loudly through the straw between his teeth. He kept the sound going for a few seconds for effect, but eventually let it pop out of his mouth, “You’re half an hour late.”

Roman scoffed, “I’m sorry, I’m just such a busy guy. I’m sure you know how it is.”

Remy seemed to consider fighting the point for a moment, but then clearly thought better. He shook his head and took another long drink before speaking again, “I have something for you, Ro. Something from your brother.”

At the mention of his family member, Roman immediately went on the defensive. Originally, he’d looked excited at the mention of receiving something, but that quickly went out the window. Roman crossed his arms and pouted, “I don’t remember having a brother.”

Remy sighed, already tired of Roman’s game, “Look, do you want to know what it is or not, because I can throw it away.”

“No, I wanna see it so _I_ can throw it away if I want to.”

Remy rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the plain envelope and placed it in the centre of the table, within reach of them both and stared at Roman. Slowly, the man leant back in his chair and seemed to relax entirely, as if a weight he was carrying was dropped off of his shoulders. He casually sipped at his drink once more, watching Roman carefully as he grabbed the envelope.

Roman purposefully took his time opening the envelope. He could feel Remy watching him, even after the man had flicked his sunglasses down, and Roman really didn’t feel like playing up to his friend’s expectations. It was hard, but he managed to accomplish his goal and slowly took the piece of thick paper out of its holder, flipping it open fairly quickly.

His heart stopped as he saw what was, unmistakably, a wedding invitation.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Roman turned the paper towards Remy, pointing to it accusingly, “Because it’s not very funny.”

Remy pulled his sunglasses down a little to make eye contact with Roman, giving the man an opportunity to show his exasperation. “No, Roman, it’s not a joke. It’s a real wedding invitation from your real brother.”

“I already told you, I don’t have a brother.” Roman huffed. He opted to ignore the continued disdainful look from his friend and focus on the invite itself. It was proudly proclaiming the wedding of his ~~former~~ brother and his fiancé, who just happened to be the same person from years back. The silver detailing was intricate, yet also very simple as it stuck mostly to the border of the letter. Roman read the words again and again, trying to come up with anything else to say.

He didn’t want to go to this wedding. He didn’t want to see the man who was supposed to be his brother and the kid who he’d lost years ago. He didn’t want to see who he was marrying and see them both looking happy once more. He didn’t want to go because he’d likely have to see the other’s family and deal with all of them, which meant seeing… _him._

“Ugh.” Roman threw the paper down onto the table and pushed it towards Remy, “I’ve thought about it and I’m totally not going. I’d have to see Logan again. I am not about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me and gloating in my face about how great he is and how much better his life is with his two brothers.” Roman pretended to puke, sticking a finger into his opened mouth.

Across the table, Remy had had enough. He roughly slammed the recyclable cup he was sipping out of against the table, not making a loud sound but getting his point across and managing to get Roman’s full attention.

“See? This-” Remy flicked his finger up and down Roman’s body, “-is the problem here. You.”

Roman spluttered, clearly offended. He went to speak but Remy took the sunglasses off of his face and snapped the arms shut, “I wasn’t finished.” Remy said, his voice somehow both calm and threatening at the same time.

“You are still holding onto the past, Roman. You tell me every time we meet up that you’re over it, that you’re done with all that, but look at you. You’re throwing away an invite to a wedding because you don’t wanna see one person. One person you’ve put characteristics onto that are not even a part of them.” Remy sat up straight for the first time, locking eyes with Roman, “How do I know that? Because I’ve met with them. I’ve met with them all, and guess what? They’re not dicks. They never were dicks.”

Roman was slowly getting angry. How could his friend turn on him like that?! “That’s not fair, Rem! I thought you were on my side!”

“OH. MY. GOD.” Remy threw his hands into the air, silencing Roman. The few people still around in the diner turned to see what was going on, “There are _no sides_ , Roman. There have _never_ been sides to choose. You made your own problems by focusing all your attention on ruining one guy’s life, and you are still so blind to all the shit you’ve caused.”

“Luckily, they’ve all been able to move on without you and they’re probably better for it. Do you wonder why you’re always alone, going out to clubs to dance with strangers, drinking the night away?” Remy asked rhetorically, “It’s because you’re unable to make friends. You never learned how.”

“That’s a lie! I-” Roman started to respond but Remy cut him off again, standing up out of his chair which caused it to make a horrible screech as it slid back.

“No, it’s not, Ro. You have no friends at work, which you happily gloat about because ‘they’re no fun’. You have no friends outside of work because all you do is go out and party with strangers who forget your name the next day because all of them are so drunk. You have half a friend, Roman Ashworth, and that is me.”

“Half a friend…?” Roman asked meekly, a little scared at Remy’s behaviour.

“Yeah, half a friend. Because I am getting sick and tired of all your high and mighty behaviour. You’re not better than anyone else, sweetheart. You’re actually worse off than most. And, if you keep this up, you’re going to lose that half as well, because I am gradually losing hope for you. I used to sometimes be able to see that kid I used to be friends with, the kid that was fun and wasn’t obsessed with himself, wasn’t obsessed with some other kid that had literally no interest in fighting him, and I’m really starting to lose sight of him.” Remy plucked his cup back up and made to head towards the door but stopped just as he turned his back to Roman, “If you ever start to wake up and see the destruction you’ve caused, call me. Or-” He reached back into his jacket again and pulled out a second envelope, this one noticeably thicker than the one he’d handed to Roman. He held it between two fingers, showing the other man that his name was written on the outside, “-I might see you at the reception.”

With that, Remy walked out the door of the diner.

Roman was left alone with the invitation still staring him in the face, along with the few other customers who were watching him with interest. Quickly, he grabbed the invite and walked back to his apartment.

He was absolutely furious that Remy would even say such things to him. How dare he insinuate that Roman was one of the worst people he knew! How dare he say that he was only ‘half a friend’ to Roman now! How dare he even try and compare Roman to those who’d dropped him so easily all those years back.

Roman stormed around his apartment for a while, thinking about what to do. “C’mon, Roman. Think. You just have to prove that he’s wrong about you.” He muttered to himself as he paced frantically.

Then he had the most brilliant idea he’d ever had. Roman dove for his laptop that rested on the small coffee table and switched it on as he took a seat on the couch. He drummed his fingers on the edge, a giddy sense of glee filling him. If Remy was so sure that everyone else was having a great time with their ‘friends’ and whatever, then Roman was just going to have to find evidence that he was wrong.

Roman searched through his social media in order to find either Patton or his fiancé. He first found the fiancé’s but then realised that he was blocked by the profile holder. Roman took offense and quickly moved to Patton’s, more determined than ever to find proof that their lives were not as perfect as Remy made them out to be.

“Oh, you were always too trusting, Patton…” Roman spoke low, as if he were taunting the statue of the man that resided in the profile picture. He wasn’t blocked here, he was even still a friend, which gave him access to all he could possibly want to find. “Let’s see what you have on here, shall we?” Roman spoke to himself as he began to scroll through the pictures Patton had posted over the years.

This trawling through the other man’s pictures and memories did not have the desired effect on Roman, however. Instead of finding pictures where they seemed to be faking their amazing life and great friends, Roman was being greeted by images that just proved Remy’s point. He searched desperately, trying so hard to find evidence to his theory, but ultimately came up short. He could reason out all the smiles with negative ideas as much as he liked, but there was no water to any of it.

Slowly, Roman started to give up hope and just began to click through the pictures. He’d not seen his little brother in well over 7 years, and the absence was suddenly hitting him hard. He’d gone all the way back to pictures that had been taken a little after the day they moved away from the old neighbourhood and was watching the young man grow into the adult he was today.

Roman clicked through picture after picture showing his daily college life; his dorm room, all the friends he was making, his relationship with his now fiancé. Everything looked idyllic and perfect.

Now, he wasn’t an idiot. Roman knew deep down that this was still an idealised version of Patton’s life, but there just had to be some truth behind it, especially as every photo was within a few days of each other.

He slapped the lid of the laptop shut in frustration. Roman decided to get some rest, he’d be able to focus better tomorrow anyway, and he would definitely be able to find something that proved his point.

The next couple of weeks went by in a blur of usual mundanity for the most part, though Roman was now hyper aware of how his co-workers acted around him. They seemed to grow quiet as he approached, either beginning to talk in hushed whispers or just entirely going silent. Before he'd had that talk with Remy, Roman saw these behaviours as invitations for him to start his own conversations with the groups he was passing by, but now he wasn’t so sure. Roman attempted to brush this off as a random coincidence and go about his day as normal, but the idea kept nagging at the back of his mind.

At the end of each day, he was more than ready to go about his usual evening routine and just go have some fun. Roman forgot about the social media scrolling and just did what he always did. He went out, got drunk and had a great time with some strangers, but one day, he left before the club closed because he still couldn’t get the odd nagging from his mind.

Roman huffed as he walked through the door to his apartment, kicking off his shoes roughly. He went to the bathroom to remove his makeup and his eyes caught the laptop still sitting on the coffee table where he’d left it weeks prior. He paused, considering it for a second before ignoring it and reaching for the makeup remover. It was only once he had fully cleansed his face that he looked at the piece of technology again.

Realising he’d never be able to sleep if he didn’t at least have a look, Roman threw himself onto the couch and flipped open the laptop. As he waited for it to load, he pulled out his phone and looked at his own profile.

He felt like he needed to compare himself, really visualise the difference that Remy had been talking about in order to understand it because he really wasn’t seeing it right now. His heart sank, and his stomach ached as he realised that every picture he had was usually of him alone; selfies of him in dark clubs or his own apartment. The ones that had other people in them were of people he didn’t know the names of or were of him and Remy. It wasn’t until he went back to his high school pictures that he was able to see photos of himself with people he could easily recognise and name.

Roman started to feel queasy so he threw his phone to the side and focused on getting back to Patton’s profile on his laptop. More pictures went by as he spent the next hour looking at them. Photos from holidays and vacations with his fiancé and their family, photos from date nights and anniversaries, photos of people Roman could vaguely recognise from their high school days. But then came the pictures from the last Christmas that had gone by.

The first was like most Christmas pictures he’d already seen on his travels through Patton’s life, showing him wearing a large festive jumper and his fiancé begrudgingly wearing one of their own. The next ones were what hit Roman the hardest.

He saw his parents. With his little brother. And without him.

Roman hadn’t realised that he’d not only dropped his little brother all those years ago but had also lost contact with his parents. He hadn’t spoken to them since he’d decided to move away to the city, figuring that he didn’t need to. Each and every time they’d invited him home, he’d been busy – or so he’d fooled himself into thinking. And they’d stopped trying after all these years. Patton had done the same back then, having moved away so suddenly and not really wanting anything to do with their parents, but he’d clearly patched up the relationship somewhat. It hurt to see this, see himself excluded from what could be seen as any normal family picture. The next one hurt even more. It was both of the families, sitting together for a posed picture. He finally got to see Logan’s face for the first time in years. He could seem him happy, alongside not only his parents, but also Roman’s own parents.

Roman once again slammed the laptop shut and left it to fall into sleep mode. He moved into his bedroom and attempted to fall asleep, trying to rid his mind of the image he’d just seen. The next day, he didn’t even feel like going out. He instead decided to sit on his couch and binge some TV. He tucked the laptop away in a place he couldn’t see it, trying to remove the temptation to torture himself some more.

This went on for another week, just Roman working all day and then sitting in front of his TV until he eventually passed out from exhaustion. All the while, he was cursing everyone he used to know, especially Remy. The man was supposed to be his friend and yet he’d cursed him like this, forced him somehow to look at all of those pictures and make him feel the worst he’d ever felt in his entire life.

It wasn’t until one of his co-workers approached him that Friday did Roman finally realise something was terribly wrong with his life.

Roman had almost fallen asleep as his desk due to his entire week involving him passing out at around 1am after laying on the couch for hours. So, when the meek young employee had approached and checked if he was okay, Roman was definitely startled.

No one at work had spoken to him so kindly in a long time. “I was just a little worried.” The young worker said, “You’re usually full of energy and life, but recently you’ve looked a little worse for wear and I just wanted to make sure you were okay…”

Roman awkwardly assured his co-worker that he was okay, or was at least going to be soon, still a little thrown off by the nice gesture. It felt good to be thought about by someone. Later, during his lunch break, he managed to catch up to the other co-worker and ask if they were sitting with anyone, before taking up a seat at the same table in the café.

That lunch had been the most enjoyable in a long time. Roman wasn’t sat at his desk alone or out somewhere by himself, he was laughing and learning about someone else. Later that day, he was still hung up on it and decided to pull out the laptop again.

He didn’t want to look at pictures any more, Roman decided as he unlocked the laptop once more. He moved back to the main page of Patton’s profile and scrolled a little through his other posts, reading the most recent ones that all seemed to be related to his upcoming wedding.

Roman paused for a second when he saw one that had a couple of names he recognised. Patton had made a post a few weeks back, talking about how his fiancé’s brother and his fiancé’s best friend had argued over who would be the best man, and both of them were tagged. Roman hesitantly clicked on the best friend’s name, just curious to see how he was doing.

There was some zing of joy that managed to sneak through the ever-present gloom that was filling Roman’s body as he saw that the old friend of his was doing well. He scrolled through the pictures for a moment, trying to figure out why he recognised the girl that was in a lot of the photos before giving up and heading back to Patton’s own page.

Roman paused as a thought entered his head. Remy had said he’d spoken to the couple, right? Did that mean…?

Without even really giving a single thought to the consequences of his actions, Roman looked at Remy’s profile. It was then that his world really shattered around him. Remy had other friends, Remy looked happy. Roman had very few memories where Remy was as happy as he looked in these pictures. He scrolled through a few, noting that the old friend he was previously looking at featured in some of the pictures along with the girl.

The laptop was quietly shut and placed back on the table. Roman was left in the dark of his apartment. It was now nearly midnight. This would usually be when he’d be in his element in the clubs, and here he was, sat alone. He reflected on everything he’d seen over the past weeks, slowly letting everything add up in his head.

He really did have no friends. He did nothing but work and party. He went to the clubs to fulfil that sense of companionship with drunken strangers who he forgot the names of before they’d even parted ways. He brushed off the invites to hang out with his co-workers and his family, which had made them start to ignore him. He’d deluded himself into thinking this was the best way to live his life, that he was free from all restraints and was doing exactly what he wanted. But those pictures told a different story.

Roman knew he wanted what those pictures had all shown him. He wanted friends, he wanted to have relationships that meant something. He wanted to get his family back, he wanted to laugh and cry with them and see them happy. He was starting to get that back from the singular lunch experience he’d just had, but that was only a taste – and Roman realised he’d been craving it for years now.

He groaned and buried his face in his hands, “What have I done…?” Roman once again spoke to the empty air, as if maybe some voice would respond to him. As his hands fell away and he stood to get a drink, the white of the wedding invite caught his eye. He’d dropped it onto the small table just outside of the kitchen area, thinking he’d throw it away eventually, but something was stopping him.

Just then, Remy’s voice rang through his head, “If you ever start to wake up and see the destruction you’ve caused, call me.”

Without thinking through the consequences, Roman reached for his phone and called Remy’s number. It rang for what felt like forever before Remy finally picked up.

“What?” came the sleepy voice. Roman laughed to himself; he’d forgotten that Remy was always cranky when someone interrupted his sleep. “Look, if you called to just laugh at me, coul-”

“I think we need to talk, Rem.” Roman quickly responded, before Remy could finish his thought, “I think… I need your help.”

There was a moment of silence, only broken by the slight rustling on the other end of the phone line. Roman fiddled with the ripped flap of the invitation’s envelope that was still sat underneath it on the table as he waited for Remy’s response.

“Okay. But we’re meeting late, I need my beauty sleep. Perfection like this doesn’t happen without good rest.”

Roman was able to hold back his laughter as his nervous energy poured out from him, “Sure thing. How about 5pm?”

“Uh, no, my terms. 8 or later.”

“Demanding as usual. Fine, 8.”

“You can’t talk shit.”

“Uh huh, sure. See you tomorrow, Rem.”

With that, they both hung up. Roman sighed and decided to head to bed, finding that rest came easier that night than any before.

\----

Roman nervously tapped his foot as he checked the time on his phone for the umpteenth time since he’d sat down in their usual seats at the diner. It was now getting close to 8:45 and Remy had still not turned up or messaged him. Roman had already made his way through several drinks as his throat kept drying up.

As Roman was beginning to type out a message to Remy in order to check if he was actually coming, the man in question strolled through the door casually and slipped into a seat opposite.

“Sorry, I’m late. I’m just _so_ busy… I’m sure you’d understand.” Remy flippantly stated, exaggeratedly gesturing and throwing his legs up onto the empty chair beside him.

Roman breathed out a self-conscious laugh at having his own words thrown back at him, “Okay, I deserved that…”

“Oh no, that’s just the beginning, darling. I have plenty more where that came from.” Remy pulled out his phone and opened one of the notes pages, “Should I list them for you?”

“Nah, surprise me next time.” Roman pushed the phone down. A moment of silence passed as Remy stared at Roman through his sunglasses, it took that whole time for Roman to realise his friend was waiting for him to say his piece.

He took a deep breath and began to speak, “I wanted to meet you to say I’m sorry for how shitty I’ve been. This whole month has been fucking torture because what you said has been playing on my mind, which made me see the truth. It made me realise I’ve just been pretending, pushing away the negative thoughts and making everything positive. I’ve been so focused on me, and I haven’t looked at anyone else around.” Roman thought back to the co-worker he’d spent lunch with the day before and smiled, “But now I realise that I need to be better. I need to listen to people, not just brush them off all the time… because that’s how I end up with no one in the long run. I figured the best person to start with in order to make myself better was you, Rem. You’ve been my friend for years, you’re the only one I’m still in contact with from back then and you never actually gave up on me, no matter how much I ignored you or frustrated you. I feel like I need to thank you and apologise a hundred times over before I’ve truly made up for all the shit I put you through, but I hope this is, at least, a good place to start…”

Remy was silently sipping at the drink in his hand. He said nothing, even after it was clear Roman was done. He let a minute go by, looking as though he was considering everything Roman had just poured out to him. “You’re right.”

“Huh?” Roman almost jumped as the man opposite suddenly spoke.

“You really do have to apologise a hundred times.”

Roman flicked his eyes around the diner. He was unsure if Remy had accepted his initial apology or not. He waited in yet more silence as Remy took another extended drink through the straw that was perpetually between his lips.

“…but I guess this is a good enough start.”

Finally, the cup was placed on the table and Remy smiled his half smile at him. Roman felt his entire body relax. He’d been so god damn tense this whole time without even really noticing it. He felt like laughing maniacally out of relief, but managed to reign himself in before talking, “Thanks, Remy.”

“That’s two.”

“Fuck... you’re actually going to keep count aren’t you?” Roman rested his forehead against the table, groaning.

“You know it, hon.”

“Great.”

“So, who’s next on your list?” Remy asked, changing the subject.

Roman raised his head and sighed, “See, I’m not sure exactly who I need to apologise to. Like, I know I should say it to my family and Patton’s fiancé’s family and everything, but who else?”

“Wow, you really _do_ need my help. Alright,” Remy finally moved his sunglasses off of his face. He rested them up on top of his head, so he could look Roman dead in the eyes, “Let’s get started with this list.”

For the next two hours, the two friends sat and figured out a ranked list of people who Roman needed to apologise to. It started with the easier and geographically closest ones for Roman to handle, so he’d get the hang of what he needed to say and how to say it in a way that wasn’t awful. Remy listed off everyone he could think of on the top of his head before grabbing Roman’s phone and scrolling through his contacts and his social media. They left the obvious ones until last.

“So, when do you think you’ll speak to them?” Remy casually asked, as they’d now reached his family members.

Roman shrugged, “I dunno… Depends how quickly I get through the rest of these?” He said, clearly unsure of himself.

Remy raised an eyebrow, “Really? You can’t think of any time at all when you’d be able to see them all?”

“But… wouldn’t that be… kinda gross to do? Bring it all back up on their wedding day?” Roman was trying his hardest to think of a better time, but nothing was coming. After the wedding would be awful and he really only had two options before that: skipping out on their invite to the wedding and then showing his face after that when they would have already probably made a decision about him due to his absence, or turn up at the wedding, actively avoid interacting with anyone that might possibly recognise him but then that would also make it seem like he’d not cared to show up at all even though he had.

He began to search for even the smallest reason not to turn up, “Like, I don’t wanna start a fight on their wedding day, Rem. It would be bad.”

“Start a fight? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Well, y’know… me and Logan haven’t gotten along and-”

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Remy groaned loudly, rolling his eyes back. “Roman, come on. Are you _still_ stuck on him? Just let it _go_ , bitch. Oh my god. I don’t even _know_ what he did to make you hate him so much, but it _better_ be something fucking traumatic as _hell_ or else I’m walking out of here.”

Roman shut his mouth. If he was completely honest with himself, he didn’t even remember what Logan had done all those years ago. He’d just ended up telling himself and everyone who asked that he was ‘just an uptight, controlling asshole’, but that still didn’t mean that Logan was in the clear. Also, yeah, he was kinda a huge dick to Logan and stuff, but that didn’t really matter anymore. He hadn’t seen the guy in years, so really it didn’t have anything to do with what he was currently trying to figure out.

“Wait.” Remy was currently reading his mind, if his facial expression was anything to go by when Roman looked back up, “You don’t even realise what you really did, do you?”

“Rem, please, just tell me stuff. Don’t ask questions like that… I can’t.” Roman whined, almost pleading with his friend.

Remy silently pulled out his own phone again. He scrolled through something that Roman couldn’t see from the angle he was currently sat. It was only once the phone was slid across to him that he was able to see that it was a social media chat. What he read caused his stomach to churn.

Message after message sent between Patton and Remy went by. He read all their discussions, from their first correspondence where they’d lamented the loss of their friend and brother, up until their recent talk about asking him to come to the wedding.

“Oh, that’s not all.” Remy plainly said as Roman attempted to push the phone back to its owner. Another chat was opened, this time with Reggie. He scrolled back up to a specific message before letting Roman read again.

This time all the messages described what had happened once Roman had left the school and the effect he’d been having on his little brother and their friends. He was only able to get to the messages that described what he’d done on that fateful day in the park before Roman had to stop himself before he puked.

“Okay. Okay. I get it. Just. Stop showing it to me.” Roman cried out, leaning against the back of the chair in an attempt to get as far away as he could from the phone screen.

“Do you really get it, Roman?” Remy asked, his voice measured and serious. “Do you get what you did? What your actions caused? Because you better understand before you even think about seeing any of them again.”

Roman swallowed hard and tried to calm himself down. It hadn’t occurred to him that he’d been such a dominant source of anxiety and stress for his little brother and his friends. He’d never stopped and thought about how his obsession with proving Logan was somehow worse than him and taking him down a peg would even remotely cause such changes. He’d absolutely never thought that he would actually have been the source of arguments and disagreements. Something inside of him was thrashing about, yelling at him and punishing him. Maybe it was his morality that had finally been released from its cage after all these years.

He didn’t even realise he was losing himself to it all until a hand rested on his shoulder and Remy’s voice reached him, though it did sound like he was far away down a tunnel, “Hey, Roman. Can you breathe for me?”

Roman tried, but he found his lungs weren’t listening. They seemed to just want to breathe sharply. It was almost like he was drowning, he was shivering like mad, but he felt like he was in boiling hot water. His muscles were tensing to the point of being painful, causing him to start to curl up into a ball, which didn’t help his breathing.

“C’mon Ro. You can do it. Just follow this pattern as best you can.” Remy started to gently stroke a rhythm out on his back, keeping it perfectly in time. Roman could just about make out Remy vocally breathing through it at the same pace.

He managed one shaky breath, but then fell back into a couple quick ones. “Good, that was good, Ro. Keep trying.”

It took a few minutes, but eventually Roman was able to breathe deeply again. He was now able to notice Remy crouched at his side. They were still in the diner, it was still dark outside. Everything was getting back to normal. Aftershocks still racked Roman’s body from time to time, but he felt better, “What… what was that?” He asked, still a little dazed.

Remy stood up and took his seat across from Roman once more, “A panic attack, Ro. I guess that was my fault, shouldn’t have thrown that all at you in one go. Sorry.”

Roman shook his head softly, “Don’t. It’s okay. I just… I never realised. I didn’t know that-” His throat seemed to close as he went to admit it out loud. He cleared it purposefully and powered on, “-that I did all that. That it was all my fault.”

Remy nodded, “Well, do you get it now?”

“I think so…” Roman bowed his head and paused as another aftershock of shudders flew through his body, “I have so much more to apologise to them for, huh?” He smiled ruefully at his friend that was back to sipping at his new drink.

“Understatement of the century, sugar.” Remy responded with his own smile as he also flicked his sunglasses back down over his eyes.

From that night onwards, Remy would spend at least one evening a week leading up to the wedding with Roman. He was the one who critiqued the apologies Roman came up with and got him to change them for the better, while also being the support Roman needed in order to even go through with some of them. As the weeks went by, the pair found themselves just enjoying their nights together as they relaxed a lot more. Roman was still trying to get out of some of his old habits, but Remy wasn’t too pushy on it. He was finally seeing the kid that he became friends with back in middle school; the sassy confident asshole that complimented him so well. Remy had to remind Roman of his old self from time to time, especially when he started apologising for something that wasn’t a big deal.

One night, Roman and Remy were simply lounging on Roman’s couch, watching a show and chatting. Roman grabbed the wedding invitation off the coffee table and turned to Remy, “Hey, so I was re-reading this earlier today and it’s an invite to the reception, right?”

Remy looked between the invite and Roman, eyebrows raised, “Did you think they’d invite you to the ceremony? I thought we’d already worked through your delusions, but alright.”

“No, you dick.” Roman shoved Remy’s shoulder with an exasperated smile, “I just wanted to make sure.”

“Ohhhh, sure.” Remy held his hand still as he was shoved lightly again, making sure to not spill the drink he was holding.

“So, what about you?”

“I’m going to both.”

“Oh.”

Remy glanced to the side and saw Roman’s slightly downcast expression. Clearly the man had not been expecting that revelation to come out so easily, but he quickly managed to shake it off and smile unconvincingly once he noticed Remy looking at him.

“Okay, Ro, do I need to explain again how much I’ve been in their lives?” Remy sighed and tilted his head back to rest against the back of the plush sofa.

“Nah, I kinda knew it. I guess I just needed to hear it to really believe it. Y’know?”

The corner of Remy’s lip twitched into a smile, “Yeah, I get it.”

Then the week of the wedding came. Remy had to cancel their usual get together as he needed to travel, but he did threaten Roman gently in order to make him promise to show up. This threat was what made Roman turn up on time, finding himself swamped in a landscape of unfamiliar faces. Some of the more friendly and chatty guests tried to start small talk with him and Roman obliged them, being as polite as he could while also dodging around the question of how he knew the couple.

Roman eventually found himself lingering in the bathroom of the reception venue, checking himself in the mirror over and over. He kept finding small things that needed to be fixed, but a small part of his brain – that sounded strangely like his friend - told him that he was stalling so he didn’t have to go through with what was going to undoubtably be the hardest apology he was ever going to have to do.

He wasn’t deluded anymore. He was aware of what his actions had caused, at least as far as Remy could tell him. There was no way for him to truly know what effect he’d had on Patton and his parents after all these years, but he knew it wasn’t a positive one. Roman was highly aware of the fact that they might not accept his apology outright and – while he knew it would hurt – he wasn’t going to be surprised if that happened. The amount of pain and suffering he’d caused over the years was a hell of a lot, almost to the point of being unquantifiable, so he was prepared to take their decision with dignity. He knew it wasn’t about him - well, okay it was a little about him, but it wasn’t _about_ him – so if he was left hurting at the end of it all, that was just how this was going to go.

His phone buzzed as he was bracing himself to leave the bathroom. Roman checked it to see a message from Remy.

_Rem: Boy. You better be late or something, because I will ruin you if you’re not coming._

_Ro: I’ve been here for almost 30 mins, just been in the bathroom for...  
      For most of it.  _

All of a sudden, the door to the bathroom slammed open and crashed into the wall.

“You better get your cute little ass out of this bathroom right now or else, lord help you.” Remy shouted. Roman realised that the door hadn’t even shut as Remy finished his sentence.

“Rem!” He whispered harshly, “Shut up! The last thing I need is-”

“…It’s not a wedding without a fight, right honey?” Laughter followed the voice that floated through the small crack in the door as it finally shut.

Roman hung his head and turned away from his friend, “Great. Wonderful. Just perfect! Now people actually think I’m getting into a fight! Y’know, the whole thing I wanted to _avoid_!” Roman glared into the mirror, trying to catch Remy’s gaze.

The other man was leaning against the wall between two of the stalls and simply shrugged, “Wouldn’t have been an issue if you didn’t hole yourself away in here, honey.”

Roman scoffed and rolled his eyes before turning back to face his friend, “Don’t you ‘honey’ me. Ugh, I don’t know if I can do this, Rem…”

“You can and you will, unless you want-”

“Unless I want you to tell them that I’m a coward who turned up and wanted to apologise but skipped out because it was too difficult for me. Yes, I know, Rem. You’ve told me a hundred times.” Roman cut across the other, sounding exhausted.

“Alright, good, you listen. Now, you’re gonna stand up straight, walk out of here, go find your table, sit and listen quietly like a good little boy, wait until the moment you can move and then go say your thing, right?” Remy casually rattled off the plan they’d gone over and over in Roman’s apartment a few weeks ago.

Roman sighed heavily, “There’s no getting out of this, is there?”

“Nope.” Remy crossed his arms, “Either you do it yourself, or I drag you out of here to do it, and that wouldn’t look good, sweetie.”

“Ugh, I know! I know!” Roman almost cried to the ceiling, as if he were cursing some kind of omniscient being for putting him in this situation.

Remy blinked a few times before speaking again, “Are you done?”

Roman pouted but nodded. He followed his friend out of the bathroom, taking a deep steadying breath before stepping out into the large reception room. He stood just outside of the door for a moment, unsure of where to go. From what he could see, there was something like a photo booth on the far end of the room, which was decorated with pictures and memories of the couple as well as several things that bore the couple’s last names. Currently over there were some people he thought he vaguely recognised, there was a tug at his memory that told him they could be aunts or uncles or cousins that he’d only met a few times. Seeing them reminded Roman that family were going to be involved and he suddenly felt the need to hide back in the safety of the bathroom once again.

Remy made sure he couldn’t do that, however. Almost as if he had a sixth sense for Roman’s panic, the other man grabbed his wrist just before he was about to turn and run before dragging him over to the table that sat just next to the entrance.

“So, you’re back here. What are you going to do?” Remy prompted, pointing at the table plan for the dining area.

Roman found his name at the table furthest away from the head table. He’d expected something like that and so it didn’t come as much of a shock, but he realised that – in order to get to the head table – he’d have to walk through the dance floor, which would be completely clear and in full view of everyone attending. Roman could feel his heart starting to pound as he visualised the worst; being watched by all those pairs of eyes, being rejected immediately without even having the chance to speak and apologise, physically being dragged back across that empty floor and thrown outside.

Remy comforted him by gently stroking the pulse point on his wrist, “Hey, chill out. You’ll be fine. Patton will hear you out, he’s a good guy. Everyone else will follow his lead. Just chill.”

Before he could even respond, Roman was interrupted by the call for everyone to take their seats in the dining area. He shakily drew a breath and looked at Remy, who nodded to him. Both of them walked through the double doors, but Remy was being sat at a table near the front, so he left Roman to sit at his assigned table.

Roman tried to control his pounding heart and his shaking hands as the rest of seats filled up. He quickly realised that he was at the “Random People We Invited But Really Didn’t Expect Them To Turn Up” table, as three of the seats around him remained empty and the rest recalled stories of one time encounters or impersonal tales of how they knew the newly married couple. When it came to his turn, Roman made up a story of how he’d known the couple back in high school – it wasn’t a full lie, but it made it easier than possibly having to explain why he, the brother of one of the grooms, was sat here at the back of the room.

It felt like an eternity before the wedding party finally arrived, giving Roman a reason to stop talking to these people he didn’t know. He clapped politely along with the rest of the room as everyone entered and took their seats at the head table, though he was unable to take his eyes off of his parents and Patton once they’d come through.

They all looked so happy, like actually really happy. Roman had no memories of any of them looking like that, at least as far as he could recall. His stomach started to sink even more as the toasts began, the realisation that his awful behaviour years ago really affected his family in such a horrible way. He barely paid any attention to the toasts and speeches, especially when they came from people he didn’t know or were about events he’d never even heard about. It was yet another reminder that Roman had missed so much of their lives. He reacted in kind with the people at his table, smiling and offering a weak chuckle whenever they laughed, but none of it was real. The only time Roman really found he focused was when people he did know spoke, mostly his father and Logan.

Patton and his new husband – who Roman realised he should now refer to by his name, Virgil – took to the dance floor for their first dance. The moment was pure and adorable, yet Roman felt ill watching the two of them. All he could see as he watched the couple slowly sway were the young kids he’d thrown around and yelled at in the rain all those years ago. Guilt was dripping through his body, making him want to curl up and hide away from everyone. It also gave him the drive he needed to stick through it and make him want to apologise, he wanted to get his family back and see them happy. He wanted to replace that awful memory with ones full of smiles.

Roman almost missed the call for the buffet to start. They were going up table by table and, of course, because he was at the reject table, his was going to be last. He was not upset by this arrangement at all, however. It gave him more time to psych himself up.

The buffet was right across the room from his seat, which meant that if anyone looked just to their side, they would have a full view of him. Roman made sure to keep his face covered by his hand as the head table gathered their food, using the guise of propping his head up as the ruse. He watched and mentally counted down the numbers as each table was called up to get food. As Remy’s table went up, the two made eye contact and Remy jerked his head towards the long main table, a silent message that reminded Roman of his ultimate goal. He nodded in response, which seemed to placate Remy for now. Finally, his table was called.

Roman stood with the rest of them but lagged behind a little as they all passed in front of him. He wasn’t hungry at all. Throughout the process of all the guests gathering their food, Roman had seen many of them take a detour to the head table in order to congratulate the couple on their marriage, so him crossing the empty dance floor wasn’t going to be too out of place. The last member of his table passed in front of him and Roman took the plunge, walking directly towards the head table.

At first, no one seemed to respond in any negative way. They must have thought he was another well-wisher or something, not surprising as they hadn’t seen him in years. It was only once one person clocked that it was Roman that everyone else seemed to fall silent as they realised it themselves.

The rest of the room quietened in response, as other tables seemed interested in what was going on. Roman clenched his fist quickly to try and stop him shaking before he opened his mouth.

“I am here to apologise. To all of you. To my parents, for ruining your lives for years and destroying relationships you may have otherwise spent time enjoying. To all the people here who knew me in high school or college, specifically those who were there to witness… _that_ day. I apologise for causing so much stress, for almost ripping your friendships and relationships apart. I am so sorry for being an ever-present thought in all of your minds and being such a problem for you all. To anyone I used,” Roman glanced to Remy for a second and then to Reggie, who sat at the head table, “I am sorry for being a blockade and a dick to you all. I wish I could have understood how to be a better friend and how much I had to lose back then. I am sorry I only saw you as a tool to further my stupid, self-imposed revenge that really made no real sense. To Mr and Mrs Mortenson, I am so sorry I targeted your son and almost ruined your other’s relationships. I’m sorry I stopped you from seeing my parents back then and I am so sorry for being the reason you moved out of a neighbourhood that appreciated you both so much.”

Roman paused for breath, knowing the hardest part was just about to come out.

“To Virgil,” He turned and looked the man in the eyes, trying to ignore the hatred that was blazing in them, “I am sorry for everything I did to you. I had no idea what impact my actions and words had on you, especially back then. Now, I am aware that I likely did lasting damage and for that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for trying to stop you being friends with Patton. I am sorry for causing your brother so much trouble and hurt that he was worried I would turn on you. He was probably correct about me back then, and that is unforgivable.”

“To Logan,” Roman turned and looked at his self-proclaimed school rival, finding the knot in his stomach untying as his gaze wasn’t as rage filled as his younger brothers, “I am immensely sorry for everything I ever did, for all the awful things I put you through. I know my actions and my words were disgusting and I fully own that fact now that I have been able to see the consequences. I am sorry for treating you unfairly and making assumptions that pushed me to find new and creative ways to be a pain in your ass. I am sorry that I ruined so much of your life and practically forced you to worry even more about your younger brother, purely because you were worried my attention would turn to include him in that stupid vendetta I had. I’m sorry for every word I said against you, I am sorry for every action I took against you.”

“And… to Patton,” Roman could feel his eyes beginning to tear up a little as he looked at his younger brother, seeing the small vulnerable young kid he’d almost destroyed. He refused to let himself cry in this moment, it wouldn’t look good and would make him feel like he was trying to gain sympathy, “I am sorry to you, Patton, my little brother, for everything I did. I had no idea that the boy you came home excited to talk about from preschool would turn out to be the man you loved, and it is awful that I tried to stop that. I am sorry for trying to push you to be like me, I’m sorry for even considering and implying that you were even remotely like I was back then. I’m sorry for all the teachers that compared us, for all the stuff I spouted about how close we were, for all the times I caused you to panic and worry about me or anyone I was involved with. I’m sorry that I almost ruined everything for you. I am truly sorry for it all.”

“I understand that some of you may not accept this apology and I want to say that I understand and will respect your decision, no matter what. Everything I did was unacceptable, and I am disgusted with myself. I wouldn’t be here without your kindness and willingness to at least give me a chance, and I definitely wouldn’t be here without you, Patton, reaching out to someone who could get me to realise the problems and hurt I’ve caused all of you. Thank you for being so gracious in listening to me today and for even considering inviting me to the happiest day of your lives.” Roman bowed to them out of pure instinct. He blinked back the tears that were still pricking at his eyes. His throat had caught several times and he needed to now swallow hard in order to stop him from bursting into tears.

Roman stood up straight and looked along the head table. He smiled and thanked them once more before going to turn and leave.

“Roman, wait.”

A voice stopped him from moving. Roman turned back to see Patton standing up, along with Virgil and a couple of Patton’s side of the wedding party. They seemed to be having a quiet argument, so Roman stood still and waited patiently to see what was happening.

On the other side, Logan was watching the man stood in front of him with a soft smile. He was fully aware everything Roman had just said was sincere. So many times in high school did Logan have to sit and watch as Roman faked his way through apology after apology, empty promises that he’d never do anything like that again to any student. This time, the emotion was plain for all to see and his eyes didn’t hold the rage and promise of more hurt. Logan physically found himself relaxing. He even helped in coaxing Virgil off of his new husband.

Everyone was silent as Patton smiled warmly to Virgil, “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.” He whispered before pressing a kiss to the other man’s cheek. Patton turned and walked around the table, coming to stand in front of Roman. He could see his older brother was tense, was clearly trying to hold himself together and so Patton smiled a comforting smile before wrapping his arms around Roman in a gentle hug.

Roman’s eyes flew wide. He hadn’t expected this. He stared between the table and the man hugging him carefully. When he heard the next words from Patton, everything came falling down.

“I forgive you, Ro.”

Roman wrapped his arms around his younger brother, silent tears falling from his eyes. He knew he still had a lot to do to make up for everything he’d done, he knew he hadn’t won all of their trust back, but he was more than willing to put in the work to do it. Roman was determined to prove he’d changed. But now, all that mattered was that he had his little brother back.


End file.
